Grey's Anatomy star returning to show after 17 years

grey's anatomy cast
Grey's Anatomy star returning after 17 yearsABC

Grey's Anatomy star Kali Rocha is returning to the show after 17 years.

The actor, who starred as Dr. Sydney Heron nearly two decades ago, is set to return to the role for three episodes of the ABC drama's upcoming season (via TVLine).

Set to reprise the role for season 21, Rocha made her first Grey's Anatomy appearance all the way back in season 2. Her character, a fourth-year resident responsible for overseeing the interns, was introduced after Bailey went on maternity leave.

kali rocha, grey's anatomy season 3
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During her time on the show Dr. Heron was responsible for Bailey's interns including Sandra Oh's Cristina Yang, Ellen Pompeo's Meredith Grey and Katherine Heigl's Izzie Stevens.

Rocha had a recurring role for the next two seasons, with one storyline involving a date with Patrick Dempsey's Dr. Derek Shepherd aka McDreamy.

The news of Rocha's return to Grey's comes after it was announced that both Midori Francis, who plays Dr Mika Yasuda, and Jake Borelli, who stars as Dr Levi Schmitt, will be exiting the show this season.

james pickens, chandra wilson, sara ramirez, sandra oh, ellen pomeo, katherine heigl, kali rocha, grey's anatomy season 3
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It's not yet clear how Dr. Sydney Heron will be written back into the show, which is set to premiere this September.

Previously teasing what's to come from season 21, which will see Ellen Pompeo up her screen time, Camilla Luddington, who stars as Jo Wilson, said the script for the season 21 premiere left her feeling "shooketh".

"And you know what's so funny... we never know what's going to happen. We are not given a heads-up, so I was reading the script in bed this morning and I was shooketh," Luddington said a few weeks ago.

"I was shooketh, I was amazed and yeah, we're going back next week, I actually have a table read tomorrow."

Grey's Anatomy season 21 will air premiere on Thursday, September 26 at 10pm ET on ABC in the US. Previous seasons are streaming on Disney+ in the UK.

Read more Grey's Anatomy news on our dedicated homepage

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