Kate Walsh to leave ‘Grey's’ for spinoff

LOS ANGELES - It looks like “Grey’s Anatomy” is about to go under the knife to cut out one of its stars… and breathe easy, Ellen Pompeo fans, it’s got nothing to do with the recent fiery ferry crash.

ABC has decided to pursue a “Grey’s” spin-off with sexy neonatal surgeon Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd (played by the lovely Kate Walsh) as the lead character, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.

The pilot has yet to be finalized and “Grey’s” creator Shonda Rhimes has yet to decide on a title.

However, Rhimes recently filled the cast in on the idea and revealed she will write a special two-hour episode to serve as the pilot, with a likely debut in May, according to the report.Walsh joined the “Grey’s” cast in May 2005, appearing towards the end of the season one finale.

When contacted by Access Hollywood, ABC had no further comment beyond what was in the Wall Street Journal article.

In order to focus on the project, Rhimes has reportedly back-burnered “Correspondents,” another pilot she was working on starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who played Katherine Heigl’s patient love interest Denny Duquette.

“Correspondents” follows a group of female journalists as they travel around the country doing news stories together. Although, it would star Morgan, it would have nothing to do with the “Grey’s” franchise.

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