He’s ready to flee the scene

William Petersen is leaving “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” CBS’ top-rated series.

Petersen has agreed to return for occasional guest appearances and will remain an executive producer, but his run as a cast member will end this coming season, the show’s 10th.

The decision to leave was Petersen’s, producers said. He took a break during the 2006-07 season to perform in a play, with Liev Schreiber stepping in as a visiting investigator.

A new male investigator will join “CSI,” a role that has yet to be cast.

Producers said Peterson’s character, Gil Grissom, will be reappraising his life after years of high-tech forensics investigations with the Las Vegas Police Department and after facing personal turmoil.

“We’re talking about a man who has suffered a great deal of loss recently… A man thinking about the next phase of his life,” said executive producer Naren Shankar.

A number of familiar characters will return in the episodes building up to Grissom’s departure, among them his former colleague and flame Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox), the Miniature Killer and sexy Lady Heather.

Back in the swim

Katie Holmes is returning to TV – and yes, there’s a “Dawson’s Creek” connection.

Mrs. Tom Cruise, who played tomboy Joey Potter on that teen drama, will guest star in an episode of the legal dramedy “Eli Stone.”

That means Holmes, 29, will work again with “Stone” creator Greg Berlanti, who was a writer-producer for “Dawson’s Creek.”

Give him shelter

Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, the subject of recent tabloid rumors about excessive drinking, entered rehab Wednesday.

Wood, 61, has fought a long battle with alcoholism during his music career, which started in the 1960s with The Faces.

Living up to his name

Comedian Andy Dick was arrested early Wednesday on drug and sexual battery charges, the latest in a series of smarmy incidents.

The former “NewsRadio” sitcom star allegedly urinated outside a Murrieta, Calif., bar, then walked up to a 17-year-old girl and pulled down her top.

Marijuana and the drug Xanax were found in his pants pockets during a search, police said.

Dick, 42, was forcibly removed from the set of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” last year after repeatedly touching guest Ivanka Trump.

Some things you can’t forget

Grammy-winning singer Natalie Cole has been diagnosed with hepatitis C, her publicist announced Wednesday.

The liver disease is spread through contact with infected blood. The statement said Cole’s case likely was caused by her past drug use.

The 58-year-old daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole is scheduled to release “Still Unforgettable,” the follow-up to 1991’s Grammy-winning “Unforgettable … With Love,” in September.

The birthday bunch

TV personality Art Linkletter is 96. Comedian Phyllis Diller is 91. Actor Donald Sutherland is 73. Actress-singer Diahann Carroll is 73. Actress Lucie Arnaz is 57. Actor David Hasselhoff is 56. Actress Bitty Schram is 40. Country singer Luke Bryan is 32.