TELEVISION mogul Simon Cowell has showed his softer side by donating money for a North-East baby to have cancer treatment in America.
The tough-talking X Factor judge agreed to pay the remaining money for one-year-old Sophie Atay, from Birtley, in Gateshead, to get the urgent medical care she needs to improve her chances of survival.
Singer Alexandra Burke rang Sophie's mother Karine Atay last night to tell her the news.
The family has been trying to raise 500,000 to fund a trip to New York for specialist treatment for Sophie's neuroblastoma, a rare cancer which affects young children and develops from cells left behind from the youngster's development in the womb.
Ms Burke said: "It's completely touched me and I've spoken to Simon Cowell and he's going to put the rest of the money.
"I really hope that she's OK and that she's well and she can go over there and fight it."
Sophie's mother said she was "lost for words", and thanked everyone who had made donations.
She said: "It's a horrible thing for a little baby to go through and that's why I'm trying to do what I'm trying to do."
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