'Diva-like fits': New book details why Patrick Dempsey was killed off 'Grey's Anatomy' - NBC News

A new book by Lynette Rice sheds light on the drama behind arguably the most-shocking and most-reviled character death in the show's history: that of Derek Shepherd, also known as "McDreamy," played by Patrick Dempsey.

Dempsey had started throwing "diva-like fits," and a "tension" had developed between him and costar Ellen Pompeo, who plays the show's namesake Meredith Grey, according to a chapter from the book titled "How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy," which was published by The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday.

"Some cast members had all sorts of PTSD with him," Parriott said.

Dempsey and Shonda Rhimes, the creator and executive producer of "Grey's," "were at each other’s throats," Parriott said.

That was going to suggest that their love was not true, that the thing we said for 11 years was a lie, and McDreamy wasn’t McDreamy," she said, according to EW.

Jeannine Renshaw, another producer and writer on the show, said Pompeo was "frustrated" with Dempsey and "angry that he wasn’t working as much.".

"She just didn’t like that Patrick would complain that 'I’m here too late' or 'I’ve been here too long' when she had twice as many scenes in the episode as he did," Renshaw said.

When Rhimes caught wind of the "complaining," it was "the final straw," Renshaw said.

Representatives for Dempsey, Rhimes and Pompeo did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.

Its latest season averaged more than 15 million viewers per episode, according to Quartz.

Dempsey eventually reprised his role as Derek in an episode last season where he visits Meredith while she is on the verge of death and dreaming of being reunited on a pristine beach with those she has lost

Both Pompeo and Dempsey shared photos on Instagram of them filming together