Miley cyrus vanity fair

The 15-year-old actress and singer found herself at the centre of a scandal earlier this year when the American magazine published a photograph of her apparently topless beneath a satin sheet wrapped around her.

Cyrus, the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, was forced to apologise to her legions of fans "who I care so much about", saying that she was embarrassed by the picture, which was taken by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz.

A host of celebrities lined up to defend the star, including Madonna, who said that her young daughter, Lourdes, was a Hannah Montana fan, and insisted that the picture was "not a big deal".

Now the actress has said that she has learned from her mistake and hopes that it will help her in the future.

"It was one honestly dumb decision," she said in an interview with The Times Saturday magazine. "You know, there's a first time for everything. It was my first time working with a big photographer. I think I just kinda got put under pressure and that's OK, because I learned a lot from it."

She added: "And I just know to trust my better judgment and my thought and my gut feeling. And so I just think: be a little more careful next time."

The Disney show premiered in March 2006 and became an instant hit with its young audience, who adore Cyrus's role as a schoolgirl with a secret life as a rock star.

She has since notched up two multi-platinum records and is the youngest performer to have two number one albums within 12 months.