Whoopi Goldberg's mystery illness revealed after two-week absence from 'The View'

Whoopi Goldberg has been absent from her usual seat on ABC's The View, prompting rumours that the acclaimed comedian was in secret rehearsals to host the upcoming 2019 Oscars.

Despite the Academy revealing that there would be no host for this year's ceremony following Kevin Hart's decision to step down from the role, fans were convinced that Goldberg would make the perfect host.

However it simply was not to be – The View co-host Joy Behar revealing Goldberg wasn't rehearsing, she was recovering.

"Whoopi is on maternity leave. I'm sorry. It was a miracle. She hid that so well," Behar joked to the audience of her 63-year-old co-host.

"She's actually recovering from pneumonia. That's what she had. It's a serious thing." Behar then explained.

She also addressed the "conspiracy theories" running rampant on Twitter and other social media sites that Goldberg would be hosting the Oscars, insisting that she had to "set the record straight."

"I don't think she's going to be able to host the Oscars and I'm sure she's very disappointed," Behar quipped. "She's not really even well enough to host this show right now, much less the Oscars."

However Goldberg had given the role of Oscars host a lot of thought when Hart first stepped down, though not for herself.

During an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in December last year she revealed that her pick for the role was none other than Hangover star Ken Jeong, who had just starred in Crazy Rich Asians.

"He would be brilliant," she told Stephen Colbert at the time. "It would also constitute the first Asian American to host the Oscars. It would be a whole series of firsts."

"And he also loves film and I think that's what you need in a host. You need somebody who actually gets why films are great and can tell you the ins and the outs and the silliness of movies."

Jeong himself even joked that he would be keen to take up the mantle of Oscars host in a later interview, but the Academy revealed their decision to go host-free soon after.

Goldberg remains absent from The View as she continues to recover, Behar adding that despite dealing with pneumonia the star was in good spirits.

"I saw her last night and she's very funny still and we had big laughs," Behar said.

"She's getting there. She's on the mend. So we miss you, Whoopi."