Australian ex-pat Melissa George has signed on to play a lesbian intern in the upcoming sixth season of hit U.S. medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy.

The 32-year-old, who’s had a number of television guest appearances in the States of late, has snagged herself her very first “regular spot” on a  U.S. sitcom since moving  there in the late 90’s.

According to a source, George’s spot on the show could be the ticket she needs to make the big time in tinseltown.

Her character, a “budding medico”, will fall for one of Grey’s established female leads. Rumour has it that her lesbian partner will be either Callie (played by Sara Ramirez) or Erica (Brooke Smith).

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It looks like Dr. Izzie’s time is almost up at the County General Hospital, with a possible death scene coming up in her storyline.

According to several sources from the set of the hit ABC series, Grey’s Anatomy, the actress who plays Izzie, Katherine Heigl, has annoyed the show’s producers so much that they want to take her out in the most spectacular way, and killing her off seems to be high on their list of priorities.

Creator Shonda Rhimes is said to be so “pissed off” over what Heigl said in the lead-up to this year’s Emmy Awards that she wants her off the show for good. Heigl infamously took herself out of the running for this year’s awards – despite winning a ‘Best Supporting Actress’ gong last year – because she felt the writers on Grey’s “failed to give her enough good material to work with last season.” Ouch.

The animosity towards Heigl has added unneeded stress to the set.

“It’s not good there,” a source said of the Grey’s Anatomy set. “Shonda is pissed. They’re thinking of killing [Izzie] off. They want Izzie dead.”

However, killing off Heigl’s character, Dr. Izzie Stevens, may be giving the actress just what she wants. Other sources have claimed that Heigl wants to ditch the hospital drama in favour of her budding film career, and would welcome the axing of her character with open arms.

“I haven’t heard anything about that,” a rep for Grey’s producer, Rhimes, said.

When contacted, reps for both Heigl and ABC refused to comment.

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