BGT star shares update after life-changing surgery paid for by Simon Cowell

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by Emma Dodds |
Published on

Simon Cowell has paid for Britain's Got Talent finalist Julia Carlile's life-changing operation

We don't know about you, but we reckon the notorious Mr Nasty has been softening up of late.

First, it came out that Simon Cowell was actually responsibly for setting up Cheryl and Liam.

Then, he organised a beautiful single to raise money for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.

He even flew a five-year-old boy to the US for specialist cancer treatment just a few months ago.

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MerseyGirls started off being called Just Us and made it to the final (Credit: ITV/ Britain's Got Talent) ©ITV/ Britain's Got Talent

And Simon, 57, is keeping up his new softer side as it's been revealed that he has paid for one of the Britain's Got Talent finalists to fly to the US and have life-changing surgery.

Julia Carlile, who was in the dancing group MerseyGirls, is just 15-years-old, and was suffering from scoliosis - an abnormal curve of the spine.

Despite this, she was still able to dance in the group, who won Alesha Dixon's golden buzzer and reached the final last year.

Sadly, Julia heartbreakingly revealed during their audition on the show that she would no longer be able to dance after the talent show, due to an operation she needed to have for her scoliosis.

WATCH: Alesha makes Just Us' dreams come true Auditions Week 2 Britain’s Got Talent 2017

The operation would fuse her spine with metal rods, meaning that she wouldn't be able to dance anymore.

But in an amazing turn of events, Simon got involved when they find out there was a different operation in the US.

And Julia has updated her fans with some incredibly happy news...

It's been nine days since her operation, and Julia is already up and about - she's even dancing!

In an Instagram post, she wrote: "Okay so don't mind my messy hair but... Nine days post-op and I'm dancing already, I am finally feeling recovered, it was a long bumpy road but i did it💃🏼 Second op tomorrow."

The operation, called body tethering, sees screws being fixed into a cord in the back and is reversible if it doesn't work.

It's also not currently available on the NHS.

The girls revealed that if they won the show, they would use the money to pay for Julia's surgery.

But after their semi-final performance, Simon took matters into their own hands.

He said: "Just seeing how you’ve all come together with this beautiful friendship that you've got and when you're passionate about something I couldn't imagine not being ever able to do that again.

"I really couldn't. And that's why we all live – for the things that we love to do.

"Whatever happens, we'll make sure you're in a great place."

Julia later told the Liverpool Echo: "He didn't have to do it and he has changed my life. There are no word to thank him for how grateful we are. It's just unbelievable."

Congrats to Julia!

Do you know anyone with scoliosis? Let us know over on Facebook and Twitter.

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