What to expect when Kate Walsh returns to 'Grey's Anatomy'

It's been nearly a decade since "Grey's Anatomy" fans have seen Dr. Addison Montgomery and, on Thursday, that dry spell finally ends.

Kate Walsh, who plays the character in question, makes her grand return to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in the Oct. 14 episode titled "Hotter Than Hell."

Series star Ellen Pompeo, who plays Dr. Meredith Grey, spoke with "Entertainment Tonight" to tease what brought Addison back to Seattle and what it may mean for Meredith, as the two share a rather complicated history.

"We are doing a surgery together," Pompeo said. "Addison Montgomery is presented with a super challenging surgery and she needs some help. So she says, 'Please get me Meredith Grey,' and then I come in and we do this surgery together.'"

Pompeo also hinted that Addison's upcoming arc will span at least three episodes, but refused to provide further details.

"Kate and I had a great time working together," Pompeo said of Walsh. "I haven’t really seen her in a really long time because of the pandemic. And she moved [to] Australia and so it was really, really nice to see her and it was really fun to get to work with her."

Addison first appeared in the show's season 1 finale and iconically introduced herself as the wife of Patrick Dempsey's Derek Shepherd before extending a hand and telling Meredith, "And you must be the woman who's been screwing my husband."

Walsh departed "Grey's" at the end of the third season in 2007 to star in her character's own six-season spin-off, "Private Practice," which wrapped in 2013.

"Grey's Anatomy," now in its 18th season, airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.