Oprah Winfrey is to produce a Broadway musical production of The Colour Purple, reports IMDb.com.

Winfrey herself starred alongside Whoopi Goldberg in the 1985 movie adaptation of the Alice Walker novel which tells the story of a young black girl who is raped by her father.

The chat show host, who herself was a victim of sexual abuse in her youth, hopes that adding her name to the production will give a wider potential audience.

She explained: "I hope to open the door to the possibilities for a world of people who have never been or even thought of going to a Broadway show."