BGT MerseyGirls dance star, 15, is recovering in US after Simon Cowell paid for her £175k spine op
A TEENAGE star of Britain’s Got Talent is recovering in hospital after Simon Cowell paid for her £175,000 back operation.
Julia Carlile, 15, from the MerseyGirls dance troupe, touched the nation by revealing she suffered from scoliosis - a curvature of the spine, which leaves her in constant pain.
She told how she requires surgery, which could leave her unable to dance again.
Vertebral body tethering involves screws being fixed along the back. It takes just six weeks to recover from compared to six months for surgery on the NHS and is reversible it it doesn’t work.
The quintet, which are also made up of 17-year-olds Annie and Alice, Rebecca, 16, and 14-year-old Poppy, took to Twitter to congratulate Julia after she emerged from surgery.
They wrote: “Julia has done it! First op done, we are so proud of her and missing her so much want to give her a MASSIVE HUG, our girl is a fighter.”
Julia previously told of the moment the X Factor mogul offered to foot the bill for the op, “Simon came and spoke to us backstage. Just walking off stage and he said he was paying for it and I couldn't believe it.”
After the audition, where they performed a routine to Rachel Platten’s Fight Song, the troupe - originaly known as Just Us - received a standing ovations from the audience.
Judge David Walliams said: “It was an absolutely stunning performance. I mean, obviously when you told us that story we were hoping and praying it would be fantastic but it so far exceeded all our expectations. It’s a beautiful story about friendship and absolutely stunning performance.”
Alesha then sent them directly to the semi-finals by pressing her golden buzzer.
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She said: “I have so much admiration for you girls right now, I can’t tell you.
“Just seeing how you’ve all come together with this beautiful friendship you’ve got. When you’re passionate about something I could not image not being able to do it again.
“That’s what we all live for. It has really touched me, so much so that I’m going to do this.”
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