Natalie Imbruglia: I was hounded for a comeback

Natalie Imbruglia took a lot of persuading to get back into music.

The 40-year-old first rose to fame as a singer in 1997 with her now world-famous track Torn.

She enjoyed a hugely successful career before dropping out of the spotlight for several years and Natalie admits she was unsure whether or not she was ready to hit the industry once more.

"I was in this café and this guy was asking me who I was and what I do," Natalie said during an interview on The One Show on Friday. "And I said, 'I used to sing but I'm doing this now'. And he just hounded me to get back into music.

"Eventually I went back into New York and took a meeting with Primary Wave who's now my management. So yeah, it was him!"

Now she is making a comeback with the release of new album Male – her first record in six years.

As well as getting back to singing, Natalie also showed off her acting chops in a regional tour of Alan Ayckbourn's Things We Do For Love.

The stunning star embarked on two years of rigorous acting training prior to getting the role, but admits the production was still scary.

"I actually toured it regionally which was amazing for me," Natalie said. "I didn't think I would ever have the confidence to do a play until I did this two years of study and this opportunity came in to audition and I got the part. And I was like, 'Oh, OK! I'm gonna do it!'

"I'd love to do more theatre. I really enjoyed it. It was terrifying at first but once I got into my stride I really enjoyed it."