Grey's Anatomy's Richard Flood has told how "things got a bit scary" after his time on Red Rock came to an end.

The Dubliner recently joined Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Cormac Hayes - and fans couldn't get enough of him after he was introduced in the midseason finale. Before that, though, the actor played Garda James McKay on Virgin Media One's Red Rock, before his character was killed off in 2016. And he told The Irish Sun how he went through a "dark period" after leaving the soap - and before landing his new role on the long-running medical drama. "Right after Red Rock, things got a bit scary. Previously, I had a good job, it was pretty well received and I thought surely it would lead to something else," he said. “But auditions didn’t go well, the phone didn’t ring. Nothing was hitting and that period was pretty scary. I was living in Dublin, I had a family to look after. It’s the nature of this work but that doesn’t help when you’re going through it. It was a pretty dark period for me.” Despite only being on the show for a few episodes, Dr. Hayes has already gotten his own 'Mc' nickname: McWidow - something which the actor says his friends think is hilarious. “My mates think it’s hilarious. Patrick Dempsey was McDreamy and I get McWidow," he said. "He sounds a bit miserable by comparison.” Flood also spoke about working with Ellen Pompeo, who is a producer on the series - and, of course, plays Grey's Anatomy's Meredith Grey. “I’m so new to the show, I have no idea what’s coming. And it’s Grey’s Anatomy — they keep their storylines top secret," he continued. “Ellen, she’s the producer, she’s been on it for 16 years, she is the show, it’s her thing so it made sense for me to meet her during the [casting process]. “Ellen’s a really big deal and I was nervous to work with her. But there’s something so normal and disarming about her. I just felt like I was working with another actor who was there to do the job.”