NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell is returning to ABC's long-running morning talk show The View to co-host it with Whoopi Goldberg, the television network said on Thursday.

The outspoken talk show star and Emmy winner will rejoin The View in the fall. "ABC confirms Rosie O'Donnell returns as co-host of #TheView w/ moderator Whoopi Goldberg for Season 18," the Walt Disney-owned network said in a tweet.

O'Donnell, 52, was a co-host on the show in 2006-2007 but left after failing to negotiate a contract with the network and following clashes with property baron Donald Trump and former co-host Elisabeth Hasselback.

O'Donnell's daily talk show programme The Rosie Show, which featured celebrity guests, interviews and news, was cancelled by Oprah Winfrey's OWN network in 2012.

The View is going through an overhaul after journalist Barbara Walters, who created the show in 1997, retired in May and two other co-hosts, Sherri Shepherd and actress Jenny McCarthy, announced they would be leaving.

Goldberg is the only host who is returning.

O'Donnell, known for her brash humour, is an activist for gay adoption and other social causes. She has been nominated for five Emmys and won the award in 1999 for outstanding variety, music or comedy special for the 52nd Annual Tony Awards.

She has appeared in television series, on the stage and films such as the baseball comedy A League of Their Own in 1992 and the romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle in 1993.