‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Star Chandra Wilson Wants Katherine Heigl, Kate Walsh, And More To Make A Return

One of the original characters of the landmark series Grey’s Anatomy would like to see some of the characters that helped make the show a household name return.

Chandra Wilson, who has played Dr. Miranda Bailey since the Shonda Rhimes-produced series premiered in 2005, said she would like to see all of the medical drama’s fan-favorites come back. The 49-year-old actress told Hollywood Life that all original cast members, dead or alive, should “at some point needs to show their faces again!” Such cast members would include Katherine Heigl, who played Dr. Izzie Stevens from 2005-2008, and Kate Walsh, who played Addison Montgomery on both Grey’s Anatomy and its spinoff, Private Practice, from 2005-2013. Other notable characters that fans of the Emmy award-winning series would like to see are Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) and characters who died on the show, like Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and Dr. George O’Malley (T.R. Knight)

The need to see original cast members make a comeback has been an idea that has been floating around a lot as the show continues to progress. There have reportedly been numerous campaigns online to bring back the show’s most memorable characters, no matter what their fate was. Wilson said to the news outlet at the 20th Annual Women’s Image Awards in Beverly Hills on February 22 that living characters like Addison and Izzie are “the easiest ones to bring back.”

While neither Grey’s creator Rhimes or its showrunner, Krista Vernoff, have mentioned bringing any of the iconic characters back, her former beef with Heigl may make any reunion involving Izzie impossible. The actress left the show abruptly in 2008 after reportedly being frustrated with her character’s development throughout the show. The Knocked Up star even removed her name from Emmy consideration that year, after reportedly not being pleased with the writing for her character. The Shondaland creator opened up about the events to Oprah Winfrey on Oprah’s Next Chapter in 2012, admitting that Heigl’s comments “stung” at the time, per E! News.

“On some level it stung and on some level I was not surprised,” Rhimes said of Heigl’s decision. “When people show you who they are, believe them. I carry that [mantra] with me a lot. It has served me well.”

Walsh, on the other hand, may be a more plausible choice to return to Grey’s, as she and Rhimes seem to still have a close friendship. The 13 Reasons Why star returned to her iconic salmon scrubs to wish the series well, as it became the longest-running medical drama on February 28. Walsh took to her Twitter account to celebrate, which Rhimes retweeted.

“A lil’ celebratory dance for @ShondaRhimes and everyone in the @GreysABC family for 15 amazing years” Walsh tweeted. “An experience that changed my world! Forever thankful #GreysAnatomy15.”