United Kingdom, Jan. 29 -- Patrick Dempsey says his Grey's Anatomy co-star Eric Dane's ALS progressed so much it made it "virtually impossible" for him to have a role in his new TV show.

The pair starred in the hit ABC medical drama together and amid the 53-year-old actor's battle with the progressive neurodegenerative disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to muscle weakness and atrophy, Dempsey has provided an update on his close friend is doing, describing his condition as "heartbreaking", and revealing he wasn't able to film Memory of a Killer.

He told Parade: "I spoke to him a few weeks ago.

"We were trying to get him in [Memory of a Killer], but unfortunately, th...