A mocking Australian commentary of the royal wedding was not going to be four hours of Princess Diana jokes, the Chaser boys insist.
They've gone on the defensive after the BBC declared their wedding special - which had been due to air at 7pm (AEST) on Friday - on the nose and gave it the axe.
According to the British broadcaster, it's always been a standard condition that its footage is not to be used for "comedy, satirical or similar entertainment purposes".
The Chaser's Chas Licciardello said the team realised only a few days ago that their program was in jeopardy, but tried to work on various ways around it.
They'd considered taking a different feed, or just using footage from before or after the wedding.
"We thought we'd found ways around it," he told ABC Television on Wednesday.
"Then they tapped down on those ways, then we played another card ... it was about lunchtime today that we took our last card to play and it was a two of spades."
The ABC has had to sign an agreement promising the show won't go ahead.
Unfortunately for Chaser fans, there's not even enough time for the team to come up with a replacement program, not with two days to go, Licciardello said.
He defended what would have been the show's content.
"There's a misapprehension that we were going to do four hours of Princess Di jokes.
"But this is a goodwill event.
"What we were doing was we were making fun of the media circus, the whole system - it's a ridiculous system the regal system.
"We were making fun of almost everyone except for William and Kate because they seem like nice, boring, normal people."
Chaser writer Dominic Knight said Australians won't take well to the clamp down.
"This is not a private wedding," he told Sky News.
"This is our monarchy and our future and the idea you can't take the piss I think, sits very uncomfortably with Australians."
The Chaser is still making the most of their opportunities by writing a tongue-in-cheek letter to "the Australian Head of State", asking for a last-minute "stay of execution for our television program".
"To ensure that our coverage was respectful, we were only planning to use jokes that Prince Phillip has previously made in public, or at least the ones that don't violate racial vilification laws.
"We've also filmed a joke about hunting grouse which we think you might enjoy."
The letter added that Australians "are a simple people who don't often get to watch that kind of pomp".
"The last big wedding we had here was Scott and Charlene on Neighbours."
The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton will air on most of the free-to-air television stations from 6.30pm on Friday.
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