Quite the surprise! Whoopi Goldberg was thrown for a loop when actor Patrick Stewart handed over an invite she won’t ever forget: to make her return to the Star Trek universe.

During the Wednesday, January 22, episode of The View, the Star Trek: Picard star, 79, asked the Oscar winner — who previously played the El-Aurian bar hostess on Star Trek: The Next Generation back in 1988 — if she would be interested in getting back in the acting game. “I’m here with a formal invitation, and it’s for you, Whoopi,” Patrick said. “Alex Kurtzman, who is the senior executive producer of ‘Star Trek: Picard,’ and all his colleagues, of which I am one, want to invite you into the second season.”

The audience of course followed that announcement up with a huge applause. “I’ve said this on the show before, but ‘Star Trek’ was one of the great experiences, from the beginning to the end,” the Ghost actress gushed. “I had the best, best, best time ever.”

Patrick Stewart Whoopi Goldberg
Paramount Television/Kobal/Shutterstock

The X-Men costar added, “It was wonderful” working with Whoopi on the original series, and that he “can’t wait to have you with us again one more time.” As far as if the big-time star will have to change her hair to reprise her role, Patrick had this to say: She “doesn’t have to do anything,” Patrick told Whoopi’s cohosts.

“She’s Guinan, and who knows what Guinan’s history really is. That could be one of the excitements down the road!” he added.

Patrick Stewart Whoopi Goldberg
Moviestore/Shutterstock

It’s no surprise to see all so happy for Whoopi, especially since everyone on the ABC daytime show panel looks up to her. “Whoopi’s like a special mother figure,” former View cohost Abby Huntsman exclusively told Closer Weekly. “She puts her arm around me and tells me ‘you’re going to be okay.’ She’ll like touch me in the middle of a commercial break and make me feel … She’s like ‘I know you’re tired but I got you.”

“When she was out last year with pneumonia, when she almost died, it was a really tough couple of months for the show,” Abby, 33, continued. “We realized like, I think in that moment, the glue that she is for all of us. She’s such a special person, and I think the audience sees that too. There’s something special about her.”

We are so happy for Whoopi!