Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey opens up why he left hit medical drama

Actor Patrick Dempsey has revealed why he near his domiciled successful aesculapian play Grey’s Anatomy.

Dempsey near nan show successful 2015 and has now opened up connected why it was “time to locomotion away”.

The 60-year-old, a beloved original formed personnel from Grey’s Anatomy’s 2005 inception, played Dr Derek Shepherd, affectionately dubbed "McDreamy" by fans earlier leaving during play 11.

Grey’s Anatomy was a US aesculapian play chronicling nan lives of surgical interns and their supervisors astatine Seattle’s Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

Speaking astir his daze exit, nan prima told ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show: “It was clip to locomotion away.

“I had nan opportunity to do a afloat play successful nan WEC, which is nan (FIA) World Endurance Championship. That was my love.”

Dempsey near nan show aft almost a decade and went connected to participate successful nan WEC, an world sportscar racing competition, achieving first spot successful a six-hour-long endurance title held successful Japan.

He added: “For me, it’s (Grey’s Anatomy) been a blessing. It’s fixed maine a awesome platform.

“I deliberation nan champion point that has travel retired of it is that a batch of young group person gone into nan aesculapian occupation because of it – I deliberation that’s a awesome thing.”

Dempsey said that contempt nan fame of Emmy-winning show, he has tried to support it distant from his children, who he described arsenic “very direct” pinch their opinions.

He said: “I didn’t really expose them to nan show (Grey’s Anatomy). I kept them arsenic acold distant arsenic possible.”

He went connected to opportunity that nan fame of nan deed aesculapian play helped him pinch his kindness work, which has seen him unfastened a crab curen centre successful his hometown successful Lewiston, Maine.

According to its website, The Dempsey Centre provides free holistic curen to crab patients including nutritional care, counselling, fittingness classes and integrative therapies.

Dempsey said: “It was inspired by my ain mother’s crab travel – she had ovarian crab complete 12 recurrences. We don’t dainty nan disease, we dainty nan personification holistically and nan visibility of nan show (Grey’s Anatomy) helped maine do that.”

He added: “You travel retired of room and your treatment, you whitethorn beryllium cured but you’re not healed and that’s wherever we travel in.”

Dempsey besides said astir being named nan “sexiest man alive” by People mag successful 2023, and called it “quite a shock” astatine his age.

The character is known for playing heartthrobs on-screen, and has starred successful a drawstring of romanticist comedies arsenic nan emotion liking specified arsenic Enchanted (2007), Made Of Honor (2008) and much recently, Bridget Jones’ Baby (2016).

Dempsey presently stars successful caller US crime play Memory Of A Killer, wherever he leads a double life arsenic a family man and a hit-man.

The Jonathan Ross Show airs connected Saturday astatine 9.25pm connected ITV1 and ITVX.