It was an emotional episode of This Morning on Friday, as Britain’s Got Talent’s famous dance group MerseyGirls all broke down crying on the sofa.
It was their first interview since lead dancer, Julia, 15, had surgery on her back to treat her scoliosis – paid for by Simon Cowell himself.
The group tears were set off by a montage video, documenting their story in the public eye, which began on last year’s Britain’s Got Talent. The five-piece dance troupe performed in front of 12 million people, and came ninth in June’s grand final.
During the series, Julia revealed her condition to the judges, Simon, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams. She also told them this would be the last time she’d be able to dance again as her spine had curved more than 100 degrees.
Head judge Simon later offered to pay £175,000 for a procedure in the US, which would allow her to continue to dance.
The montage on This Morning showed Julia heading in for surgery, as well as her three-month recovery period – and it sent everyone on the set reaching for the tissues.
Presenter, Ruth Langsford commented that, “Everyone’s crying now”, and pointing out that even the mums off-camera were emotional.
After wiping her eyes, Julia told Ruth and co-host, Eamonn Holmes: “Basically, they went in on my side and put screws on the vertebrae that had curved and then a flexible cord through them so when I grow it should straighten.
“I had like seven ribs broken. So it was a lot of pain… mine was really severe.”
She explained that doctors had told her to rest for three months, before dancing again, adding: “It came to three months and I was like, ‘Ooh, yay, I can start!’
“But when I started I figured out I’d lost strength, flexibility and confidence because I was terrified to do stuff.”
She added: “I fell a few times!”
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She then demonstrated her return to form, by doing a cartwheel on set.
Julia was diagnosed when she was only six years old, and last year she explained: “My surgery was going to be just after BGT. I thought that was the last dance I was ever going to do.
“Obviously that all changed. We found this surgery in America a few years ago that could carry out an operation on my back which would still allow me to dance. We looked into it but could never afford it. That was completely gone to me.
“Then Simon Cowell read up on it and offered to pay for the surgery which was crazy, it is unreal still now and we cannot thank him enough.”
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