McPherson responded by saying that Katherine "is absolutely staying with the show. There is an unbelievable storyline for her this year, which is really central to everything that is going to go on this season. We're really excited about that. Shonda [Rhimes] is really excited about that; she’s the one who actually crafted that."

He also addressed the press furore following Katherine's decision to withdraw her name for consideration at the 2008 Emmy Awards, adding "she won an Emmy last year, she is a fantastically talented actress. I think it’s unfortunate when there’s any kind of turmoil on a show. There are so many people who work so unbelievably hard to make that show; we have the No. 1 show in the country. I think it’s a beautifully written, beautifully acted, beautifully produced show. Everyone from the grips to the writers to the E.P.s, I think deserves an enormous amount of credit."

Grey's Anatomy co-star Eric Dane also spoke to E! News about the Emmy uproar and rumours that Katie's character might be killed off, saying that it "took on a life of its own in the outside [world], but didn't really exist within the show." He added, Katie is "a great girl, professional, she likes her job and I don't think Shonda [Rhimes] has any intentions of killing her off."

Season 5 of Grey's Anatomy will debut with a 2 hour special on September 25th.