Chandra Wilson Calls Grey’s Anatomy Emmys Reunion ‘Comfort Food-Like’: ‘It Was Like Riding a Bike’ (Exclusive)

It was like no time had passed for Chandra Wilson when reuniting with her former Grey’s Anatomy costars at the the 2023 Emmy Awards.

At The Walt Disney Company 2023 Emmy Awards Celebration following the awards ceremony, the 54-year-old actress told PEOPLE it was important to “bring in past and present cast” — including Ellen Pompeo, James Pickens Jr., Katherine Heigl and Justin Chambers — “in order to really pay homage to the show.”

“We’ve seen each other certainly on and off throughout the seasons, but last night was like our first little rehearsal,” she shared. “It was like riding a bike, we just jumped right back into our groove.”

Wilson, who plays Dr. Miranda Bailey on the long-running ABC medical drama, added the cast reminisced about their first time attending an awards show as a group.

“As a matter of fact, we were remembering what it was like when we did our first awards show, I think it was The People’s Choice Awards and we all did together,” she recalled. “It was very comfort food-like.”

On Monday, the OG castmates reunited to announce the winner for outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie at the Emmys. The reunion came years after Heigl and Chambers left the series in 2010 and 2020, respectively.

“When the first episode of Grey’s Anatomy aired in March 2005, I’m not sure Shonda Rhimes knew that she had created a show that will have a lasting influence on television and create lifelong friendships,” Pompeo began.

Chambers continued, noting how the show and it’s “400 episodes and counting” have become a “tribute to everyone who is now part of our family.” Though, there have been “some changes over the years,” Heigl added, there was “one thing that had remained a constant”: Grey’s Anatomy’s “incredible fan base.”

“You stayed with us through plane crashes, super storms, earthquakes and a global pandemic,” Wilson gushed. “And as we start our 20th season, we are officially the longest running primetime medical drama in TV history.”

“And that would not be possible without all of you,” Pickens continued, before Heigl introduced the nominees. “So to all of our fans and to all of you — we thank you.”

While speaking with PEOPLE on the red carpet, Heigl called their impending reunion an “odd nostalgic walk down memory lane.”

Though she hasn’t seen Wilson in “15 years” and Chambers in “maybe 10,” the actress explained that her former costars “are people that mean a lot to me.”

“I miss them, so it’s really nice,” she added.