Preston Burke was played by Isaiah Washington on ABC's Grey's Anatomy Seasons 1-3.

Dr. Burke is the chief cardiothoracic surgeon at Seattle Grace Hospital. He was once the interim chief of surgery while Dr. Richard Webber was healing from brain surgery. He began a relationship with intern Cristina Yang but broke it off because he feared it would ruin both of their reputations. Her miscarriage brought them back together. He and Cristina now live together in his perfectly-kept apartment. He plays the trumpet and enjoys jazz music, especially Eugene Foote's. He actually performs a surgery on his musical hero, but the patient dies during the surgery.

In the second season finale he was shot, affecting his control of his right-hand. His temporary fix to this possibly long-term problem was to work together with Cristina during every one of his surgeries so that she could take over in case he might have trouble with his hand. The arrangement fell apart after Cristina, reacting to growing stress after George O'Malley caught onto their secret, went to the Chief and confessed everything. Initially, he was engaged in a cold war with Cristina, where neither of them spoke (neither would "say Uncle") but after she broke the silence, he proposed to her and she has accepted his proposal. Until their secret was revealed, Burke was set to become the next Chief of Surgery, but now he has to compete with his fellow attendings for the position. He has since recovered, after being operated on by Dr. Derek Shepherd.

However, in the finale of season three, on the day of their wedding, Burke tells Cristina that he no longer wishes to make her do anything against her will, and Burke realized he was trying to make Cristina the woman he wanted her to be, and not accept her as the woman she is. Cristina said she "thought this was what she wanted" . He wanted her to say she knew it was what she wanted, so he leaves her in the chapel. Cristina then returns to their apartment and discovers Burke has left, taking with him the things that meant something to only him (his trumpet, his Eugene Foote collection, his grandmother's picture and his lucky scrub cap), leaving Cristina devastated.

• Official ABC Site: Grey's Anatomy
• Grey's Anatomy Insider: Preston Burke
• Surgeon - The Approved fanlisting for Preston Burke
• Greys-Anatomy.com: Preston Quotes

• Wikipedia: Preston Burke