Grey's Anatomy season 16 spoilers follow.

Grey's Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff has addressed whether or not Justin Chambers or Katherine Heigl could return to the series.

Chambers made his exit from the show during season 16, and in a twist, his character Alex Karev was later revealed to have reunited with Izzie Stevens, who was played by Heigl between 2005 and 2010.

Related: Grey's Anatomy boss confirms major character's fate after surprising diagnosis

Alex and Izzie are now living happily together and raising twins on a farm in Kansas.

In an interview with Deadline, Vernoff was asked about the possibility of Chambers or Heigl reprising their roles in the future, especially since neither of them were killed off. The showrunner replied by saying that a shock return for either character wouldn't be impossible.

"When I left the show in season 7, people asked me if there was any chance of me ever coming back, and I was smart enough to say, 'Never say never'," she said. "Here I am, so who knows?"

During the same interview, Vernoff admitted that she wasn't surprised by the divisive reaction to how Alex was written out.

"I believe that there would've been at least as big an outcry if we had killed that character off-camera, and those were our choices," she said, before adding that she "felt satisfaction" and was "really happy" with Alex's fate.

The 16th season ended four episodes early, resulting in several planned storylines including for Teddy Altman and Andrew DeLuca being cut.

There have also been reports that a major character death was supposed to happen in the original season finale.

Grey's Anatomy airs on Thursdays on ABC in the US. It airs on Sky Witness in the UK with selected episodes also available on NOW TV.

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Grey's Anatomy boss responds to whether Justin Chambers or Katherine Heigl could return - digitalspy.com