Katherine Heigl surprised by comparison of her 'Doubt' and 'Grey's Anatomy' romances

Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Emmy Award-winning actress Katherine Heigl says she didn't see a similarity between the forbidden romances of her Doubt lawyer Sadie and Grey's Anatomy doctor Izzie until a journalist pointed it out.

In Doubt, Sadie develops feelings for her client Billy, played by Steven Pasquale. Izzie, on the other hand, falls in love and gets engaged to her patient Denny, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Asked during a recent teleconference with reporters if she noticed a link between the relationships of Sadie and Billy, and Izzie and Denny, Heigl replied: "That's so funny because I didn't until you just said that. I don't know why. I don't know why I didn't make that connection at all, but, yeah, you're right!"

"It is sort of similar in a way. It is that kind of forbidden love thing," she continued with a laugh. "It was really fun to play on Grey's Anatomy and, it's once again, really fun to play in Doubt."

Doubt co-creator Tony Phelan -- who also wrote for Grey's Anatomy -- said he wasn't thinking about Heigl's previous role when he was crafting her new character's story line.

"Not really. Now that you say it, it does seem somewhat similar," Phelan acknowledged. "I think that the big difference is that, in Izzie's case, Izzie was very much still a student and figuring out who she was and how she wanted to be in her career and how important her career was going to be versus her personal life and Sadie is very much an established, professional woman and, so, that is a slightly different dynamic on kind of the same landscape. Also, Katie, as an actress, just brings so much more grounding and depth in her portrayal of Sadie. I think the audience is going to enjoy that parallel, if they get it, but it is going to feel different."

"I'm 10 years older," Heigl chimed in.

Co-starring Laverne Cox and Dule Hill, Doubt is to premiere on CBS Wednesday night.

They protect the people. They fight the power. They raise the doubt. ⚖#Doubt premieres Feb. 15 on @CBS. pic.twitter.com/D3Hjilgr0m
— Doubt (@DoubtCBS) February 8, 2017