No, Owen Hunt Actor Kevin McKidd Is Not Leaving 'Grey's Anatomy'

Grey's Anatomy Season 19 kicks off on Thursday, October 6 on ABC with a whole host of old and new staff members starting their shifts at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

Ellen Pompeo is back as Meredith Grey for the 17th year in a row but unfortunately for Dr. Grey fans, Pompeo will only star in eight of the 10 episodes.

Pompeo's limited screen time sparked fears amongst fans that other big characters in Grey's Anatomy were stepping back or leaving the series for good, especially long-term resident Dr. Owen Hunt, played by Kevin McKidd.

Kevin McKidd Owen Hunt
ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” stars Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt. ABC/Mike Rosenthal

At the end of Season 18, his character found himself in a hard place.

Not only was he involved in a car accident, narrowly escaping with his life, but he had also confessed to Cormac (played by Richard Flood) he had administered medication to a patient to help him die by euthanasia, leaving his fate up in the air.

As a result of his actions, Hunt and his wife, Dr. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), resigned from the hospital and they seemingly left Seattle to start a new life abroad with their two young daughters.

Bailey (Chandra Wilson) had given the couple a head start to flee the country, making them aware a patient had reported Hunt's crimes and that she would have to contact the police.

Additionally, McKidd returned to his native Scotland to shoot the upcoming ITV and BritBox crime thriller Six Four, leaving fans worried he would not be around as much for Grey's Anatomy Season 19.

The good news is, Grey's Anatomy fans do not need to panic, as Hunt will be sticking around Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital for the foreseeable future.

Speaking to People, McKidd, who has been a part of the show since 2008, shared his character will be having to "dig himself out" of the problematic hole he has found himself in.

He shared: "I think he still has quite a bit of fallout to deal with. He did a noble thing last year, but he bent the rules too much and he has to pay the price.

"He's already paid a significant price, but it's going to be interesting to see how that plays out because he isn't out of hot water yet. He has to dig himself out. My character is always in trouble."

The Scottish actor, 49, also shared the Season 19 premiere will also be a semi-reboot of the show, to introduce new faces including Harry Shum Jr. as Benson, Adelaide Kane as Jules, Alexis Floyd as Simone, Niko Terho as Lucas and Midori Francis as Mika.

He said: "We have this amazing group of new interns, brilliant, young, vibrant actors who are really passionate. So it's making room for that. It's almost like we're going back to the beginning if that makes sense.

"We're not really rebooting, but it's definitely that pilot episode when Sandra Oh and T.R. Knight first kind of walked into the hospital. We're kind of doing that again. And it's very exciting to feel that we're all part of that."

Newsweek has contacted Kevin McKidd for comment.

Season 19 of Grey's Anatomy will premiere on October 6 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

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