This Fan-Favorite Grey's Anatomy Character Is Returning In Season 18

With 18 seasons nearly in the rear-view mirror and at least one more confirmed to be on the way, ABC's storied medical drama "Grey's Anatomy" has a thick roster of characters to fall back on whenever they want to excite their viewers with some familiar but departed faces. For instance, Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), George O'Malley (T.R. Knight), Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), and Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) all popped up on the show again when Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) visited her version of the afterlife while lingering in a coma, thanks to a severe case of COVID-19 during Season 17. Other characters who returned to the show after leaving include Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), who first appeared in the show's sixth season and became a regular on the show during Season 14.

The roll call of old characters that fans would love to see one more time goes on and on — and likely includes the one we're going to talk about today, who became a popular face on the program even though they temporarily served as an obstacle for a very popular pairing. Which "Grey's Anatomy" fave is coming back to the show again for Season 18?

Great news for lovers of Dr. Addison Montgomery, played by Kate Walsh. Per a post on Walsh's Instagram, she's going to appear on the show one more time, during the May 5 episode of "Grey's Anatomy." There's no further word thus far as to what the episode will be about or even what it will be titled at press time, but for fans of the character, it's undeniably exciting news. Per Deadline, Walsh was slated for "multiple" appearances during Season 18, so there's no current word as to whether this will be her final guest spot.

Addison's appeared twice on the show thus far during Season 18, most recently in October 2021. The first time was during Episode 3, the "Grey's Anatomy"/"Station 19" crossover outing "Hotter than Hell." In it, Addison unexpectedly returns to the hospital to help Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) with his troublesome flock of new interns. She then appears in Episode 4, "With a Little Help from My Friends." It saw Addison deal with a patient experiencing post-surgical complications. More importantly, she finally encounters Meredith. Together, they mourn over their shared loss of Derek, and Addison admits her guilt over never achieving closure with her ex-husband or meeting his children. In the episode's last scene she arrives at Meredith's house and finally meets Derek's kids — Zola, Bailey, and Ellis. 

Walsh was a regular presence on "Grey's Anatomy" from Season 2 to Season 3. Addison subsequently became the subject of the franchise's first spin-off series, "Private Practice," which took the character to Los Angeles and lasted for six seasons. Before returning to "Grey's Anatomy" for Season 18, she popped up on the show a few more times from 2008 to 2011.