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'I couldn't look at myself in the mirror if I did nothing': Simon Cowell 'to fund' £78,000 life-changing spine surgery for teen BGT dancer Julia Carlile

By Jessica Rach and Rebecca Lawrence For Mailonline

Published: 19:03 EST, 2 June 2017 | Updated: 04:00 EST, 3 June 2017

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He used to be known as TV's Mr Nasty.

But Simon Cowell has shown he is anything but that, after hinting he planned to pay the £78,000 fee needed by a Britain's Got Talent hopeful for life-altering surgery.

The media mogul, 57, admitted he would not be able to live with himself if he didn't do something to help 15-year-old Julia Carlile, who may never be able to dance again without the surgery.

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Mr Nice: Simon Cowell has shown he is anything but TV's Mr Nasty, after hinting he planned to pay the £78,000 fee needed by a Britain's Got Talent hopeful for life-altering surgery

Speaking to the Sun, the music mogul said: 'There's no way I would ever have her [Julia] on this show and say, it's all just about winning the £250,000. I couldn't do that. You would do the same thing.

'You get letters, you get calls. You have to draw the line at a certain point. But I think if someone comes on in this situation, to do nothing would be, well, I couldn't look at myself in the mirror.

'You create a connection. And I think with us, in this particular case, I think there is something we can do. There's no way I would ever say: 'Right, you came second, so it's all over'.

Distressing: The media mogul, 57, admitted he would not be able to live with himself if he didn't do something to help 15-year-old Julia Carlile (pictured here during previous surgery a number of years ago), who may never be able to dance again without the surgery

Earlier this week Alesha Dixon's golden buzzer act MerseyGirls - originally known as Just Us - soared through to the Britain's Got Talent finals after reducing her to tears with their emotional routine.

One of the dancers, Julia, has scoliosis which could stop her from dancing again in later life, and she previously revealed that she would need $100,000 to fix her spine.

She is now one step closer to pocketing the £250,000 top prize along with her troupe. Singing pensioners, The Pensionalities, also made the final on Thursday's show.

Victorious: Alesha Dixon's golden buzzer act MerseyGirls - originally known as Just Us - soared through to the Britain's Got Talent finals after reducing her to tears with their routine

The dance troupe - which consists of Annie and Alice, both 17, Rebecca, 16, Alice's sister Julia, 15, and 14-year-old Poppy - left Alesha in tears with their performance.

She said: 'That was beautiful, I loved it, that dance was stunning, you have a great message for all the girls out there to stick together.'

Amanda Holden added: 'You girls come alive when you're dancing. It was gorgeous, girls.

Welling up: MerseyGirls - originally known as Just Us - didn't disappoint Alesha Dixon as she was reduced to tears after watching their emotional routine on Thursday's Britain's Got Talent

Simon Cowell was also impressed as he promised them that this would not be the end of their journey, and hinted he would pay for the surgery.

He vowed: 'Whatever happens, we're going to make sure you end up in a great place, don't worry.'

Julia was born with curvature of the spine, or scoliosis, and is set to have surgery once her time on the show is over.

Talented: Addressing the dance troupe - which consists of Annie and Alice, both 17, Rebecca, 16, Alice's sister Julia, 15, and 14-year-old Poppy - Alesha was unable to hold back her tears

Because the procedure involves inserting titanium rods into the base of the spine, her movement will be restricted, which means her dancing career will almost certainly be over.

However, there is a glimmer of hope. A special operation available in America would allow Julia to continue performing – but she can afford it only if the group wins the talent contest and she gets her share of the £250,000 top prize.

After the auditions, Julia revealed: 'There is an operation called tethering surgery but it's too expensive. After that you can actually dance, but we just couldn't afford it.

Expert help: Leading spinal surgeon Evan Davies offered to help Julia on Friday, after hearing about her story

'It costs around $100,000 and it's in America. But if we won Britain's Got Talent then I could possibly have it and then dance for the rest of my life.'

Speaking ahead of her semi-final performance, the talented teen admitted that she had been approached by strangers who had offered to pay for the life-changing surgery.

In fact, leading spinal surgeon Evan Davies offered to help the BGT finalist on Friday, after hearing about her story.

Mr Davies, who is a spinal surgeon at Southampton Children's Hospital, said: 'I am confident we can help Julia so would like to offer her and her family the chance to speak with me and my team.

'If Julia's family can get her x-rays and scans to me, I will review them and discuss with them what options are available to her.'

He said the surgery may change how Julia dances but should not stop her from doing what she loves.

Heartbreaking: Julia revealed she had scoliosis which will stop her dancing again in later life, and she previously revealed that she would need $100,000 to fix her spine