Natalie Imbruglia needed a tutor to pass her British citizenship test.

The 'Torn' hitmaker has revealed she recently passed the exam to become a Brit, but had to employ a personal teacher after failing the first time she took it, despite the fact she has lived in the UK for the past two decades.

Speaking about officially becoming British, she said: ''[It's] so exciting! I had to take an exam.

''[There were] lots of questions about the suffragette movement. But I failed the first time and had to get a tutor.''

Now she has passed the exam, the 40-year-old star - who originally hails from Sydney, Australia - has insisted her new nationality is extremely special to her, and so much so that she almost began sobbing at a ceremony when she had to pledge allegiance to the nation.

She explained: ''I got really emotional. I choked. I couldn't believe it. I thought, 'I really, really care about this. It's a really big deal. I have lived here for more than 20 years and this is a big part of me.' ''

And the 'Johnny English' actress confessed it was especially poignant because she was almost forced to return to Sydney shortly after arriving in London because she struggled so desperately for work and almost ran out of money.

She told Evening Standard magazine: ''You can see why that ceremony made me feel really secure. Like I was home.''