Throughout sixteen seasons - and a whole lot of hospital beds -Grey's Anatomy has maintained its spot as one of the top medical dramas in television history. With a cast of characters that is difficult to rival,Grey's has provided viewers with some spectacular (and tear-inducing) moments over the years on the screen.

While the drama has always been hot and heavy at Seattle Grace (or Grey-Sloan) Memorial Hospital, the action behind the scenes has been just as intense. To journey back in time to the show's humble beginnings, two of their main actors began a feud. Patrick Dempsey and Isaiah Washington - who played Dr. Derek Shepherd and Dr. Preston Burke - started a rivalry that wound up sending shockwaves through theGrey's Anatomy universe that fans are still feeling the effects of today.

Here are15 Forgotten Facts About Isaiah Washington And Patrick Dempsey's Grey's Anatomy Feud:

Perhaps some of their fight was triggered due to some jealousy over the casting process forGrey's Anatomy. Current starEllen Pompeorevealed that Isaiah Washington was once in the running for the lead role of Dr. Derek Shepherd before Patrick Dempsey received it. While Washington did get three seasons in a high profile role at the height of the series' popularity, there is no doubt that he would have preferred to be in the starring role.

The more widely reported reason as to why these two stars came to blows was over McDreamy's tardiness when arriving on set. Instead of arriving on time, Dempsey had a tendency to arrive late which upset his fellow cast members. As a way of standing up to Dempsey, Washington confronted him which led to the fight breaking out.

While McDreamy was always pleasant around Seattle Grace, he did have an unfortunate reputation on set for being less than cheery to deal with. According to Washington, he had heard that Dempsey was difficult to deal with as an acting partner and had a reputation as a bully. While it ultimately did not work out for Washington, it seems like he was trying to stand up for everyone else.

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While T.R. Knight was not involved in the physical altercation, his presence does mean a lot the story. Instead of being hit with a punch, the words that were exchanged during the fight between Washington and Dempsey hurt him emotionally. During the fight, Washington said some insulting remarks regarding sexual orientation, which personally insulted Knight who identifies as gay.

Considering how much time each man spends on their figure and facial features, it is surprising that they would engage in such a physical brawl. However, for those that were on set at the time of their altercation and called it a "violent brawl" complete with throat grabbing and hard punches. Scary stuff!

When entering a professional fight setting, the athletes normally receive a "tale of the tape" to show how they match up against each other. While neither man is a professional cage fighter, it is entertaining to think of them that way. Despite being three years older than Dempsey, Washington has both a weight and height advantage over McDreamy.

Despite the fight being called "violent", Washington was quick to say that everyone involved has completely moved on from the situation. When discussing the fight to ABCNews afterwards Washington said, "We apologized after we went in the room and we cleared up what I implied or whatever".

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The fight between these two actors made national headlines, and was very frightening for all the people on set. However, Washington was quick to begin making jokes about the ordeal soon after it occurred. When asked about the fight, Washington said he had never been so close to Dempsey's "pretty blue eyes" before.

There is no denying that the comments which Washington made during the argument were uncouth. In fact, that is what cost him his coveted role onGrey's Anatomy. However, Washington maintains that there was no ill will meant by his comments, and that they were all directed towards Dempsey.

When Washington says that his comments were directed towards Dempsey only, he is referring to the orientation slurs which upset T.R. Knight during the confrontation. Washington maintains that since Knight was not involved in the scuffle directly, that none of the slurs were directed towards him.

Not only does Washington maintain that he meant no mark to Knight, but that Knight used the fight as a platform to help his own agenda. According to an article in the Houston Chronicle, Washington said "I'm saying to you has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he's gay. He came out October 19 as purely a tactical move to do exactly what he did, get public opinion in an outrage to lead him to believe that he is being picked on because he is gay".

While many of the cast members ofGrey's Anatomy agreed with Washington's eventual exit from the show, is close co-star Sandra Oh stayed close with him. While the details of their conversation have not been revealed to the public, Washington revealed that afterwards he got a "wonderful e-mail from Sandra Oh" following the incident.

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In the aftermath of the incident, show runner Sondra Rhimes felt it best to remove Isaiah Washington from the cast, and his contract was not renewed following season three. Despite Dr. Burke having plenty of story left to tell - including the fall out from leaving his wedding to Cristina Yang - he left the show abruptly, and has hardly been mentioned since. Except until...

Burke returned toGrey's Anatomy after a seven season absence for a two-episode arc in season 10. While there was plenty of interaction (and closure) between Burke and Yang that audiences had been waiting for, there was no interaction between Washington and Dempsey's characters through either of the episodes. Despite their characters being very close previously, it was best that these two actors did not cross paths.

There were many things that could have been on the show while Dr. Burke was present, but the circumstances of his exit assured that they would never happen. In fact, there were original plans for Meredith Grey and Dr. Burke to be the main couple of the show, but that was stopped during the original writing phases. Considering how things all played out, it could have meant a quick end to the series if this had been followed through.

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15 Forgotten Facts About Isaiah Washington And Patrick Dempsey's Grey's Anatomy Feud - TheThings