Katherine has some regrets about how she left Greys Anatomy (Picture: Getty/NBC)

Katherine Heigl has spoken out about her Greys Anatomy exit and admitted that she could have handled it with more grace.

The actress played Izzie Stevens on the long-running medical drama, but left after six years in 2010 due to issues behind-the-scenes.

Her character ducked out halfway through season six never to return, and Katherine was later labelled difficult and unprofessional as a result of the fallout.

But after a decade away from the show, Katherine has had time to reflect and admits that while shes ultimately glad she quit, she could have handled the situation better.

Speaking to People magazine, she said: I dont actually regret leaving Greys Anatomy.

I did the right thing for me and for my family but I do regret the heightened drama I was feeling at that time.

Something else that experience taught me is that no matter how big an opportunity or how rewarding something is, there will be moments of struggle, she added.

There will be difficulties and disappointment and miscommunications, but you must learn how to manage those with grace instead of fear.

The upset behind-the-scenes started when Katherine famously removed her own name from the 2008 Emmys ballot for her performance on the show, stating she hadnt been given the material to warrant the nomination.

Shonda Rhimes, the creator of the show, later said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey: On some level it stung and on some level I was not surprised. When people show you who they are, believe them.

In 2014, Rhimes took another swipe while promoting new series Scandal, and told Hollywood Reporter: There are no Heigls in this situation, adding that there was a no a**hole policy on set.

Thankfully they now all seem to have buried the hatchet, and in 2019, Greys gave an update on Izzie, revealing she was living on a horse farm in Kansas.

While she never appeared on screen, her love interest Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) left the Seattle hospital in order to win her back, after discovering she had secretly mothered his twins.

Katherine is now leading the cast of new Netflix series, Firefly Lane, alongside Scrubs star Sarah Chalke.

Greys Anatomy is available on Amazon Prime Video in the UK.

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