Patrick Dempsey is convinced his Grey's Anatomy co-star Isaiah Washington is a deeply changed man following recent counseling - but he's still keeping his distance from his fellow TV doctor.

The two actors were involved in an on-set fight last October after Washington used a gay slur to attack fellow castmate T.R. Knight.

The controversy rumbled into 2007 when Washington repeated the gay remark at the Golden Globes.

He has since apologised, met with gay community leaders and undergone counseling to help him with anger issues, and Dempsey feels sure the actor is a different person.

He says, "I haven't spent enough time around him to honestly know what's going on with him... (but) you do have a feeling, when you look at him, that something is different, and that he is working on things. You can't get away from the fact he's doing a great job on the show; he does beautiful work. He's very passionate about it. He allows himself to feel deeply and sometimes that's very difficult to contain and control appropriately."

-Patrick Dempsey Pictures

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)