Britain’s Got Talent star Julia Carlile wowed in her first public appearance since her operation at the National Reality Television Awards on Monday night.
It comes after the young dancer, 15, received life-changing spinal surgery which was funded by X Factor boss Simon Cowell after he was touched by her battle with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine.
The star looked gorgeous last night as she smiled for the cameras alongside her dance group Merseygirls.
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Julia touched the hearts of the nation after appearing on the talent competition earlier this year.
Julia revealed she needed surgery on her spine otherwise she would be forced to quit dancing forever.
The dance group, made up of Julia, Annie and Alice, both 17, Rebecca, 16, and Poppy, 14, revealed if they won the show they would spend the prize money on sending Julia to the States for treatment.
Simon, 57, was so touched by Julia’s story that he paid for the £175K surgery that she desperately needed.
Before making the trip to America for the operation, Julia spoke to the Liverpool Echo about what had happened backstage during the live shows.
“Simon came and spoke to us. Just walking off stage and he said he was paying for it and I couldn’t believe it.
“Annie came up to me and said Simon wants to speak to us. He said we did a really good performance.
“He didn’t have to do it and he has changed my life. There are no words to thank him for how grateful we are. It’s just unbelievable. It does not feel real.”
Last month the young star appeared on ITV’s This Morning to talk about the results of her successful op.
Julia had to undergo two six-hour surgeries in the space of 11 days.
“It has been really hard, probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” she said.
“But yesterday was a breakthrough, I just decided I’m going to get better now, because I just want to dance.”
Discussing what her life would have been like without the surgery, Julia said she thinks that her health would have been a lot worse.
She said: “Probably by now I would have had the fusion and I’d probably be at home recovering, a lot slower than I am now.
“I’d probably be a mess because knowing I’m not going to dance again, I’d be like ‘What do I do now?’
“So honestly this has changed my life for the better.”
Julia went on to express how grateful she was to Simon for his generosity.
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She told the show: “Honestly there’s no words that you can say to thank him, because what he’s done is the best thing for me ever, ever, ever.”
Speaking to This Morning’s resident doc Dr Zoe Williams, Dr Darryl Antonacci explained the procedure.
“For 40 years it’s been treated with metal rods coming through the back of your spine, with a lot of muscle disruption and a large, large surgery,” he explained.
“This surgery comes in from the side and instead of a metal rod we put a flexible cord and that flexibility of the cord allows you to correct the curve – basically like cinching a belt – but then it maintains flexibility.”
He added that Julia had handled the surgery like “a gem”.
And just one week after her surgery she was already back practicing her dance moves.
What an amazing young girl.