George Eads on leave from 'CSI'

Oops, was it something George Eads said?

Apparently it was: The actor who plays Nick Stokes on CSI is taking a leave of absence from the CBS drama. THR is reporting that Eads, who is an original member of the show, got into a heated exchange with a pregnant writer on the drama over his character’s storyline. The argument reportedly got back to Executive Producer Carol Mendelsohn, who then had her own mano e mano with Eads.

What happened at that meeting? Hard to say, but CBS Studios did issue this statement sometime later: “George Eads will not appear in several episodes during the first half of the season. We look forward to him returning to CSI very soon.”

No return date was announced, though.

THR says the show will deal with Eads’ absence in the fourth episode when Marg Helgenberger reprises her role as Catherine Willows for the 300th episode. CSI returns for its 14th season on Sept. 25.

In 2004, Eads and his co-star Jorja Fox were briefly fired after a contract dispute with CBS and the production company over their salaries.