Miley Cyrus joins Woody Allen's new TV series

Miley Cyrus is heading back to the small screen as the star of Woody Allen's upcoming TV series.

The Wrecking Ball singer has landed a spot in the principal cast of Allen's as-yet-untitled show for online streaming service Amazon.

The 1960s-set series, which will only include six half-hour episodes, also features actress Elaine May, who previously worked with the acclaimed director in his 2000 film Small Time Crooks.

The role marks Cyrus' first major TV gig since her hit Disney Channel show Hannah Montana ended in 2011. Since then, she has appeared as a guest on Two and a Half Men, and most recently, on Bill Murray's Netflix holiday special, A Very Murray Christmas.

Fans may be surprised by news of her fresh role in the television programme because in 2013 Cyrus admitted she had sworn off ever returning to the acting profession.

"I thought after my show (Hannah Montana concluded) I was gonna act," she revealed in MTV documentary Miley: The Movement. "I did one movie and I came back and said, 'I'm never doing that again. I'm going to do music for the rest of my life.'"

In a separate interview the star noted she simply lost interest in acting, with the craft becoming bland for her.

"I'm just not passionate about acting, because I don't like to pretend to be somebody I'm actually not," she told German Vogue. "Why should I put on strange characters? I prefer to show my true colours as the real Miley Cyrus."