Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver to leave Grey’s Anatomy

Grey’s Anatomy stars Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver have announced they will leave the hit medical drama after nearly two decades.

Scottish actor McKidd, 52, said it was one of the “great privileges” of his career to play Dr Owen Hunt on the US TV series since 2008, but it was time to build something “from the ground up”.

Raver said her character, Dr Teddy Altman, will “always hold a dear and special place” in her heart after playing the medic for the past 16 years.

The ex-army majors had a rollercoaster relationship which saw them marry in season 18 and more recently become co-parenting exes.

In a post on Instagram, McKidd announced his departure and said: “18 seasons.

18 years.

That’s a fair stretch of a man’s life.

“Playing Owen Hunt has been one of the great privileges of my career, in front of the camera and behind it.”
McKidd thanked the cast and crew, series creator Shonda Rhimes , and the fans, saying that he is “really proud of what we’ve built”.

He continued: “Long before any of this, I was just a young actor from Scotland, grafting.

Wondering if it was ever going to happen.

“So this is a goodbye… for now.

“It’s time to build something of my own from the ground up.

To tell new stories, and take everything I’ve learned here into the next chapter.”
In a separate post, Raver thanked the different showrunners who helped shape “Teddy’s journey through the years” and her “amazingly talented castmates” and “formidable, tireless crew”.

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She said: “Playing Dr Teddy Altman will always hold a dear and special place in my heart.

“Sixteen years ago, I had the incredible privilege of stepping into this role thanks to the vision of Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers.

“Since that day, it has been a true gift to bring the iconic words of Shonda and our brilliant team of writers to life.”
She continued: “Playing in this arena with you has been a joy, and I will carry this company in my heart always.

Grey’s Anatomy focuses on the lives of surgical interns and their supervisors at Seattle’s Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

The series also stars Patrick Dempsey , Ellen Pompeo , Sandra Oh , Chandra Wilson and the late Eric Dane who died in February, less than a year after publicly disclosing he had been diagnosed with the progressive neurodegenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).