Katherine Heigl Withdraws From Emmy Race Over Poor Material

GREY'S ANATOMY star KATHERINE HEIGL pulled herself out of the list of Emmy Award contenders as part of a protest about her character's development on the medical drama.

The actress, who won the Best Supporting Actress prize at the Emmys last year (08) insisted she be left off the official ballot because she felt her character was awful during the most recent season of the show.

Heigl tells website GoldDerby.com, "I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and (so), in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organisation, I withdrew my name from contention.

"I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials."