Yahoo Finance Grey's Anatomy book alleges Patrick Dempsey left over on-set "HR issues"
In a new, unauthorised book about Grey's Anatomy, writer Lynette Rice has divulged new details about Patrick Dempsey's exit from the show in its 11th season.
In the book, which will be released on September 21, Entertainment Weekly editor-at-large Rice details the behind-the-scenes action of the ABC medical drama, speaking to various cast and crew present during filming.
In an extract first published by The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer James D Parriott, who oversaw Dempsey's departure from the show, told Rice: "There were HR issues. It wasn't sexual in any way. He sort of was terrorising the set. Some cast members had all sorts of PTSD with him."
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"He had this hold on the set where he knew he could stop production and scare people," Parriott continues in the book, titled How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey's Anatomy.
"The network and studio came down and we had sessions with them. I think he was just done with the show. He didn't like the inconvenience of coming in every day and working. He and Shonda were at each other's throats."
Dempsey left the series when his character Derek Shepherd was killed off in a car accident towards the end of season 11, despite the actor being contracted until the end of the 12th season.
However, Dempsey returned to the show for several episodes in the most recent season, appearing in a dream sequence while Meredith was in a coma as a result of COVID-19.
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Dempsey is also quoted in the excerpt from the book.
"It's ten months, fifteen hours a day," he is quoted as saying.
"You never know your schedule, so your kid asks you, 'What are you doing on Monday?' And you go, 'I don't know,' because I don't know my schedule.
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"Doing that for eleven years is challenging. But you have to be grateful, because you're well compensated, so you can't really complain because you don't really have a right. You don't have control over your schedule. So, you have to just be flexible."
Digital Spy has contacted representatives for Patrick Dempsey and Shondaland for comment.
Grey's Anatomy airs on ABC in the US and Sky Witness in the UK, with selected episodes also available on NOW. Seasons 1-16 are streaming on Disney+.
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