This report is pretty much unsubstantiated and based on rumors, so take it with a grain of salt. But if it were true, how ironic would this turn of events be?

According to reports, Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl is now in the process of begging producers not to kill her off - months after she threatened to quit.

Speculation Heigl was set to leave the hit drama reached fever-pitch when her character, Dr. Izzie Stevens, was diagnosed with severe brain and liver cancer.

Katherine had also previously hinted that she wanted to concentrate on her film career following the success of her comedies Knocked Up and 27 Dresses.

But has the actress - who won an Outstanding Supporting Actress Emmy Award as Dr. Izzie Stevens in 2007 - now had a change of heart?

A source tells the Showbizspy, "With the economy tanking and her in a key role in a huge TV hit, Katherine Heigl is not ready to quit her day job."

"Now she's trying to convince them not to kill off her character. She'd like a few more lucrative seasons on Grey's Anatomy as she continues to build a reputation in the film world."

"The producers are messing with Katherine now. They won't give her a concrete answer. She's learned just how cutthroat this industry can be."

Heigl recently insisted she wasn't planning to quit Grey's Anatomy.

"I was assuming that [Izzie would die] at one point, and I got a lot of shrugged shoulders and shakes of the head, so I don't know if that's a yes or a no," she said.

"No one will tell me and I don't know how this is going to go."

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.