Isaiah Washington, Steve Carell, Jamie Dornan and 10 Other Stars Who Have Reprised Their Famous TV Roles

It's time for a blast from the past.

In slightly surprising news, Grey's Anatomy is set to welcome back former star Isaiah Washington, whose controversial exit from the series in 2007 made headlines. In a statement, Grey's boss Shonda Rhimes said the return of Burke (Washington) was essential to bring Christina's journey "full-circle" before Sandra Oh departs the ABC hit series at the end of the current season.

Of course, Washington isn't the first big star to reprise the TV role that made him famous, as actors such as Steve Carell and George Clooney have returned to their former small-screen stomping grounds in the past...

Many series tend to welcome back actors who departed the show along the way for its finale or a milestone episode.

For example, CSI recruited Marg Helgenberger for the 300th episode and Criminal Minds' 200th outing saw the return of Paget Brewster, while David Duchovny returned for The X-Files swan song to give viewers a proper goodbye to Mulder.

But sometimes, fans' devotion to certain characters can be enough to inspire showrunners to bring an actor back for a brief-but-satisfying appearance, like Fifty Shades of Grey's Jamie Dornan on Once Upon a Time and Supernatural's fan favorite angel, Misha Collins.

To see more actors who have returned to their former shows, check out our new gallery below to get the lowdown on their exits and returns.