Singer and X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger has said she hopes a new acting role may exert a positive influence on women who may be considering an abortion.

The former Pussycat Dolls singer plays Penny, a character who has an abortion, in a television remake of Dirty Dancing.

Scherzinger, a Catholic, said she almost turned down the part because she did not want to be seen to be promoting abortion.

“But hopefully can learn from her ways and I can be a positive influence," she told the Daily Mail. "I just want to encourage everybody to keep your babies.”

Scherzinger is a Mass-goer who has previously said that Confession "lifts something off of me".

She once told the Telegraph that she prayed "a lot" and that she used to pray with the other members of the Pussycat Dolls before their gigs.

Scherzinger was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, but grew up in Louisville, Kentucky.