'Grey's Anatomy' to feature Izzie Stevens lookalike in 300th episode

Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Grey's Anatomy's landmark 300th episode will feature an Izzie Stevens lookalike.

The medical drama's cast and crew confirmed in interviews this week that the ABC series will pay tribute to Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) and other departed characters.

Showrunner Krista Vernoff told Variety in an article published Thursday that the Nov. 9 episode will show the Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital staff encountering a patient who is a dead ringer for Izzie.

"[The actress] looked so much like Season One Katherine Heigl that I felt like I was traveling back in time," Vernoff said of filming with Heigl's doppelganger.

"We actually went looking for that stand-in, tried to find out if she was an actor, and in fact she was," she recalled. "We brought her here to play that role. One day if she's famous that's a pretty great breaking-in story!"

The episode will also feature Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) and George O'Malley (T.R. Knight) lookalikes. Sarah Drew, who plays April Kepner, told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published Wednesday that the patients will bring back memories for Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers).

"Cristina, George, and Izzie we're thinking about a lot during this episode because our three guest actors on the show actually really look like them and remind the rest of the doctors of those characters," the actress said.

"That causes the original group to really remember those people well and want to fight for these ones to live," she added.

Meredith, Alex, Izzie, Cristina and George made up the "Fab Five" interns at the start of Grey's Anatomy. Knight, Heigl and Oh left the show after Season 5, Season 6 and Season 10, respectively.