Patrick Dempsey Wants to Work with Ellen Pompeo Again for One Simple Reason: 'The Chemistry'

Kelly Wynne
·2 min read
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Patrick Dempsey, Ellen Pompeo
Patrick Dempsey, Ellen Pompeo
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David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty; Jon Kopaloff/Getty

Patrick Dempsey is McDreaming up ways for Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd to reunite — with or without Grey's Anatomy.

"I would love to work with her again," Dempsey, 56, said of his former costar Ellen Pompeo, 52.

Dempsey told Extra he already has a "couple ideas" on how they could reunite — but added, "I'll tell her first and then see if we can realize them."

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greys anatomy
greys anatomy

ABC Patrick Dempsey, Ellen Pompeo

Dempsey abruptly departed Grey's in season 11 when his character died, but fans' hopes from Derek and Meredith still live on eight years later (helped along by a season 17 return, via dream sequence, by Dempsey).

"It has always been a really special relationship Ellen and I have had together in front of the screen and behind it as well," said Dempsey.

"I think a lot of the success of the show was because of the chemistry and the relationship and people want to believe in love and all of that," he continued. "I meet people around the world who were wishing we were actually together, but she's got Christopher [Ivery] and I have [my wife] Jillian and they are incredible people."

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear The doctors of Grey Sloan Memorial celebrate the holidays; Hamilton and Meredith prepare for a milestone on their project; Link wants to spend the holiday with Amelia and Scout as a family; Schmitt is faced with a difficult decision during surgery on an all-new episode of Greys Anatomy, THURSDAY, DEC. 16 (9:00-10:01 p.m. EST), on ABC.

Liliane Lathan/ABC via Getty

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As for Pompeo, she is taking a step back as Grey's Anatomy enters its 19the season and is expected to appear in only eight upcoming episodes as she pursues other projects.

"I've been trying to focus on convincing everybody that it should end," she told Insider this past December. "I feel like I'm the super naive one who keeps saying, 'But what's the story going to be, what story are we going to tell?'"

She continued, "Everyone's like, 'Who cares, Ellen? It makes a gazillion dollars.'"

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Season 19 of Grey's Anatomy premieres Oct. 6 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.