Oprah Winfrey

Airdate May 26th, 2006

Millions of fans are obsessing about the new hit medical drama, Grey's Anatomy. On May 14, 2006, 22 million people tuned in to watch the jaw-dropping season finale of Grey's, which focuses on the personal and professional lives of five surgical interns, their supervisors and patients.

All season, fans have wondered what will happen to Dr. Meredith Grey (second from left), an intern who's involved in a steamy love triangle with Dr. Derek Shepherd and his wife, Addison. To complicate things even further, Meredith gets romantically involved with her dog's vet, Finn.

Will Meredith Grey choose Dr. Shepherd, played by Patrick Dempsey, or Finn, played by Chris O'Donnell?

Ellen Pompeo, a.k.a. Dr. Meredith Grey, says even she doesn't know who Meredith picks! "That's the one reason I can't wait to get back to work," she says. "I'm really happy to be on vacation, but I'm sort of anxious to get back because I want to read what happens!"

In the series' first episode, Ellen's character falls for Dr. Shepherd (nicknamed "McDreamy" by her fellow interns) and continues to have feelings for him…even after his estranged wife joins the hospital staff. Meredith's romance with the veterinarian develops after things with her true love seem hopeless.

If Ellen was in Meredith's scrubs and had to decide between the two doctors, what would she do? "Well, you have to follow your heart," she says.

During the Grey's Anatomy season finale, Ellen shares a steamy sex scene with co-star Patrick Dempsey. Ellen says these hot and heavy make-out sessions make Chris, her "real life McDreamy," a little uncomfortable.

Chris, Ellen's boyfriend, says he excuses himself from the room when the on-screen romance heats up. "I try not to watch too much," he says. "We were watching [the finale] in the hotel Sunday, and we had some friends over, and I kind of found something else to do."

"He's so nice and tolerant," Ellen says.

After two seasons on ABC, Grey's Anatomy is one of the top-rated televisions shows in America, but just weeks before the series premiered, Ellen says the show's future was in jeopardy. "We didn't even have an air date until a couple weeks before we finished the first season," she says. "None of us thought they would put us on the air."

Then, at the last minute, show producers changed the name from Grey's Anatomy to Complications, which Ellen says didn't test well. Once producers worked out the kinks, the show aired and the audience was hooked. Ellen attributes the success of the series to on-set chemistry and great writing. "Despite the long hours and how hard it is, I think we all really get along," she says. "We have fun, and I think people feel that."

Ellen doesn't always agree with Meredith's decisions on the show. For example, in one scene this season Meredith professes her love for Dr. Shepherd and begs him to choose her over his wife, Addison.

"I certainly know how it feels to be in love like that," Ellen says. "But I would never beg a man. I would say all those things—how I love you—without the begging. Let him step up and do something."

Before Grey's, Ellen appeared in films like Old School, Moonlight Mile and Catch Me If You Can, but she says she always tries to keep her personal life as normal as possible. "I think all the attention that fame brings is quite unhealthy," she says. "I try to just keep my life very simple and focus on what's really important."

Ellen says doing good work, making people happy, making herself happy and having a happy home life are the most important things in her life.

Fans, Oprah—and even Ellen—are on the edge of their seats to hear what Isaiah will reveal about Dr. Burke's fate next season.

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Source: Oprah