CELEBS...CELEBS...CELEBS...CELEBS...CELEBS...CELEBS...CELEBS...

SO, LEWIS HAMLTON HAS A JEALOUS STREAK? HIS GIRLFRIEND, SINGER NICOLE SCHERZINGER, REVEALS ALL ABOUT THEIR HIGH-SPEED ROMANCE  

By Polly Graham

She's so hot it's a wonder her Pussycat PVC doesn't melt. But not everyone is a fan of singer Nicole Scherzinger's sizzling stage outfits. Take boyfriend Lewis Hamilton, for example. The normally calm and collected Formula 1 champion gets jealous at the thought of men looking at Nicole's, ahem, sleek bodywork.

"He does say he wishes the outfits were for his eyes only," she confesses. Which is perhaps putting it mildly. The Pussycat Dolls are famed not only for their feisty songs, but also for their provocative outfits. Suspenders, PVC, leather and lace: these girls look like they've gone on a trolley dash in Ann Summers.

But, despite the fact that 30-year-old Nicole is sure to send our boyfriends slack-jawed, we have warmed to her of late. She is, after all, the woman credited with giving Britain's home-grown racing champ the support he needed to seize the F1 title in Brazil last month. And then there was the fact that, after the race, Nicole put her style status on the line to loyally don a unflattering McLaren team shirt.

"I was extremely proud," she says, smiling at the memory of her and Lewis' 15-year-old half brother Nicholas screaming and jumping as Hamilton raced to an 11th-hour championship win. "I nearly collapsed with excitement when he came through on the last lap."

Not since Posh got together with Becks has there been such a high-profile pairing in the worlds of sport and music. But for every well-wisher there's a critic keen to cast doubt on their relationship, often citing their seven-year age gap.

"I don't think it ever crossed my mind that he's younger than me," insists Nicole about her 23-year-old boyfriend. "It is about energy and spirit, so I don't think age is relevant. Anyway, sometimes it feels like he's older than I am."

Also bottom of her list of concerns is the worry that scores of girls will inevitably throw themselves at Lewis following his big win. "I don't think about stuff like that," she laughs. "Besides, I think more girls will throw themselves at me because I'm a Pussycat Doll!"

But while their ages might be different, one thing they have in common is the dedication to their respective careers. Just as Lewis has a breather from the Formula 1 circuit, Nicole is busy promoting the band's new single, I Hate This Part, from their second album Doll Domination. Then there's the rehearsals for the world tour, starting in the UK in January, to keep her occupied.

"Yeah, well that's what we signed up for," she sighs. "Our work is our passion. We are both driven people."

Driven indeed. From a very young age, while growing up in Honolulu, Nicole dreamt of being a famous singer. Her exotic looks are thanks to her Hawaiian/Russian mother Rosemary and a Filipino father. Her parents split when she was still a baby, but later she was formally adopted by her stepfather, Gary Scherzinger, whose tongue-twister surname she took. Nicole's first break came when she was 19, singing backing vocals for the Kentucky-based rock band Days Of The New. Two years later, she found success on US reality TV show Popstars, winning a place in girl band Eden's Crush.

Sadly, the experience was a miserable one because of ferocious infighting.

"I spent most of my time feeling isolated and crying my heart out," she recalls. "I was a fragile individual in those days."

In 2003, her luck changed when she joined the Pussycat Dolls. The group's first incarnation was as a raunchy burlesque dance troupe in the '90s. The act became a fixture at Johnny Depp's edgy LA nightclub The Viper Room, with celebrities including Scarlett Johansson, Charlize Theron and Christina Aguilera clammering to perform with them. Nicole got in on the act when music producers transformed the troupe into an all-singing, all-dancing pop group. They revamped the line-up, also recruiting singers Kimberly Wyatt, Melody Thornton, Ashley Roberts and Jessica Sutta.

Just two years later, they crashed into the charts with the worldwide hit Don't Cha, followed by successful debut album PCD.

The Pussycat Dolls' combination of funky, feel-good songs and eyebrow-raising, stage outfits are undoubtedly a winning combination, although it must have been a culture shock for the prim granddaughter of a preacher. But self-assured Nicole says she would never be bullied into wearing something she didn't approve of.

"I do turn down outfits," she says. "The thing about being a Pussycat Doll is feeling comfortable in your skin."

That doesn't mean Nic sees a perfect body when she looks in the mirror.

"Every woman has insecurities," she confesses. "I feel I have to work on my legs and thighs. I love food – sweets, cakes, chocolate, cheese, bread, pasta…

"But I don't believe in diets. Instead, I run a lot. Being a PCD means I have to train to keep up my stamina for the stage."

And now Lewis can take a break from racing, he can cheer her on from the crowd.

"He's very supportive of my career," she says. "Lewis and I are really happy together. He's a wonderful guy."

So will she be racing down the aisle?

"Well everybody wants that in the future," the US singer coyly admits. "So it's about working towards that and not just wishing it to happen."

• Doll Domination is out now on Interscope and the Pussycat Dolls start their UK tour on January 18, 2009.

PHOTOGRAPHY: RANDALL SLAVIN/CONTOUR BY GETTY IMAGES, HAYMARKET, MATRIX, PA PHOTOS, REX FEATURES, WENN