Heigl: Grey's exit 'appropriate'

Katherine Heigl thinks her exit from ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ was both “tragic and appropriate”.

The actress – who recently confirmed she wouldn’t return to her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens in the US medical drama after taking maternity leave to look after her adopted daughter Naleigh – has considered returning to the show for a one final episode, but decided the way her alter-ego left was more fitting.

She said: "Even though there's a part of me that would like to go back and do the quick Izzie farewell, I also think that my last scene - where Meredith says to Izzie, 'Don't go, we're your family,' and Izzie’s response was, 'No you're not, you're just a bunch of people I worked with, and I can find that anywhere' - was kind of tragic and appropriate all at the same time."

The TV beauty – who raises Naleigh with her husband Josh Kelley – worked hard to portray those emotions in her final episode.

She added: "When I was playing the scene I was really trying to convey that, for Izzie, that was a lie that she had to tell herself to have the courage to have to move on."

The 31-year-old actress was expected to return to set on March 1 to record the final five episodes of the current series, but Katherine never showed up for filming – which meant her final scenes had already aired in the US.

Show creator Shonda Rhimes agreed to release the actress – who had appeared in the programme for six years - from her contract early.