The director of the new musical version of The Color Purple has revealed the lengths they went to in order to keep Whoopi Goldberg’s cameo under wraps.

The 68-year-old actress made her big screen debut in the original 1985 movie, which is based on the novel by Alice Walker, and gained an Oscar nomination for best actress.

She is now set to make an appearance in Blitz Bazawule’s take on the story, which has been produced by Oprah Winfrey and is due for release in the UK on January 26.

Discussing the need to be “stealthy” around Goldberg’s casting, he said: “We had to be stealthy about her involvement from the beginning. Only key crew were aware that Whoopi was playing the role.

“We also never mentioned her in any press and she remained uncredited for the role.”

The musical retelling of The Color Purple comes to UK cinemas from January 26 (The Color Purple – Official Trailer – Warner Bros. UK & Ireland)

Goldberg played the lead role of Celie in the first film, and the character is played by former American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino and Phylicia Pearl Mpasi in the new version.

Goldberg’s cameo sees her play a midwife who helps Celie when she gives birth and Blitz says he felt that having her in this role felt particularly poignant.

He explained: “I always knew I wanted a connection between the original cast of ‘The Color Purple’ and the new cast. The obvious person was Whoopi because she’s synonymous with the title.

“We settled on the midwife because of its symbolic meeting.”

Meanwhile, screenwriter Marcus Gardley also explained the meaning of Goldberg’s role to the Los Angeles Times, saying: “She’s the one to not only encourage her during the birth, but it’s like she herself gave birth to the role and now we see her passing it down.

“It’s one of the most beautiful scenes because you see [Goldberg] looking upon [Mpasi] with pride and telling her, ‘You can do it’.”