--- description: The actor reprises his role as Dr. Burke seven years after his controversial departure title: Isaiah Washington Returns to Grey's Anatomy for Last Sandra Oh Episode image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt017f498922766bca/698684413bc99969531a231f/93763602.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Isaiah Washington to Return to _Grey's Anatomy_  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Mar 7, 2014 1:16 AM CUT  Season Three Finale of "Grey's Anatomy" Season Three Finale of "Grey's Anatomy"Scott Garfield—ABC via Getty Images  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Mar 7, 2014 1:16 AM CUT Isaiah Washington, who originally played Dr. Preston Burke in the first three seasons of the hit ABC show _Grey’s Anatomy_, will [return for a May episode](http://www.deadline.com/2014/03/isaiah-washington-to-return-to-greys-anatomy-for-sandra-ohs-farewell/ "undefined") after a seven-year absence. Washington left the show in 2007 after he was [accused of using a homophobic slur](http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1602994%5F1608522%5F1608559,00.html "undefined") in reference to his gay co-star T.R. Night. The _Grey’s_ writers wrote him off in a dramatic fashion: Dr. Burke abandoned fiancé Dr. Christina Yang (Sandra Oh) on the day of their wedding in the final episode of the third season. Now, Dr. Burke will return for Sandra Oh’s last episode on the show. “It’s important to me that Cristina’s journey unfolds exactly as it should,” _Grey’s Anatomy_ creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes said in a statement. “Burke is vital to that journey — he gives her story that full-circle moment we need to properly say goodbye to our beloved Cristina Yang.” After the announcement LGBTQ rights group GLAAD [issued a statement](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/isaiah-washington-returning-greys-anatomy-686625 "undefined") that approved of Washington’s return: “His PSA and his statements promoting marriage equality in recent years have sent a strong message of support for LGBT people.” \[[_Deadline_](http://www.deadline.com/2014/03/isaiah-washington-to-return-to-greys-anatomy-for-sandra-ohs-farewell/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/15062/isaiah-washington-to-return-to-greys-anatomy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/15062/isaiah-washington-to-return-to-greys-anatomy/"},"headline":"Isaiah Washington to Return to Grey's Anatomy","datePublished":"2014-03-07T01:16:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:38:13.724Z","description":"Seven years after his controversial departure, the actor will reprise his role as Dr. Burke for Sandra Oh's final episode","url":"https://time.com/15062/isaiah-washington-to-return-to-greys-anatomy/","keywords":["Television","Grey's Anatomy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt017f498922766bca/698684413bc99969531a231f/93763602.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt017f498922766bca/698684413bc99969531a231f/93763602.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GREY S ANATOMY","caption":"GREY S ANATOMY","creditText":"Scott Garfield—ABC via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/15062/isaiah-washington-to-return-to-greys-anatomy/","name":"Isaiah Washington to Return to Grey's Anatomy"}}]}] ```