Patrick Dempsey believes Eric Dane would be 'happy to know that he was so beloved'

Patrick Dempsey believes his late co-star Eric Dane would be "really happy" to know that he was "so beloved".

The Grey's Anatomy and Euphoria actor passed away on 19 February at the age of 53, less than 10 months after he announced he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Dane's death sparked an outpouring of tributes online, and his fans have raised more than $460,000 (£340,000) for his family.

During an interview with Newstalk FM this week, his former Grey's co-star Dempsey shared his belief that Dane would be touched by the response.

"Eric was so beloved, and I think he would really be so happy to know - and I know a lot of people reached out to him before his passing to keep track - that he was so beloved and is deeply missed," the 60-year-old said.

The interviewer divulged that her sister died recently, and Dempsey replied, "I'm sorry for the loss of your sister. It's very hard when you lose a family member. I lost my father very young, and my mother's passed. And now several friends in the last year I've lost."

Dempsey and Dane played doctors Derek Shepherd and Mark Sloan alongside each other for several seasons of the medical drama.

The Enchanted actor was in the middle of a press tour for his TV show Memory of a Killer in the U.K. when Dane's family announced his death on 19 February.

Addressing the tragic news during an appearance on Virgin Radio's The Chris Evans Breakfast Show the following morning, he said he felt "so sad" for the actor's two teenage daughters Billie and Georgia.

"I was corresponding with him, we were texting, so I spoke to him about a week ago and some friends of ours went in to see him and he was really starting to lose his ability to speak," he continued. "He was bedridden and it was very hard for him to swallow, so the quality of his life was deteriorating so rapidly."