With an impending phone call from his agent regarding his future on hit ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy the only thing keeping actor T.R. Knight from reaching his Summer '07 goal of shedding a headful of Manic-Panic-tinted hair, the fate of recently gayhabbed co-star and verbal tormentor Isaiah Washington is equally up in the air. According to the Us Weekly blog, things aren't looking good for Dr. Burke:

"He will not be back as a series regular," a source close to ABC tells Us, noting that the embattled star, 43 - who has been under fire ever since calling costar T.R. Knight, 34, a "f—got" - "could possibly show up for a few episodes" next season.

Still, Washington's rep insists, "Isaiah is not off the show. We do not have a contract yet, but we expect to."

"The cast - especially the women - just don't like him," says a Grey's source.

"The stars of the show really felt ABC made a mistake by keeping Isaiah [after his controversial behavior]."

The show has already lost one popular character to a spinoff, and it remains to be seen whether it can weather further series-regularectomies and still manage to retain its trademarked, horny doctor magic. Of course, there's always the possibility that something far more extreme is afoot, and that ABC is merely waiting until all the details have been finalized before officially announcing that the entire cast has been fired and replaced with the fresh, eager faces of the Golden Girls theme song dance troupe, with nary a drama queen in the bunch.

• Isaiah Washington Checking Out of Grey's Anatomy? [USMagazine.com]