Warwick Davis paid an emotional tribute to his late wife Samatha as he received this year’s BAFTA Fellowship – the British Academy’s highest honour. During his moving acceptance speech, the Star Wars actor dedicated the award to Samantha, who sadly died in March last year.
As part of his speech, Warwick, 55, thanked his beloved wife for her support throughout his career and reflected on life since her passing. “Above all though, I’d like to dedicate and thank my wonderful wife Sammy, who died almost a year ago,” he said.
“She was always so supportive of my career – encouraged me to grab every opportunity with both hands. However, I soon noticed that her level of enthusiasm for me taking a particular role was often relative to how much she wanted that designer handbag.
“Since then, life has been pretty tough for me. But thanks to the support of our wonderful children, Annabelle and Harrison, I’ve been able to continue working and engaging in life.”
Warwick then became tearful as he opened up about loving again. He added: “Special mention too should go to Sponge. You know who you are. Thank you for showing me that life can still have meaning and for helping me to laugh and to love again.”
The heartbreaking speech comes less than a year after Warwick’s wife Samantha died at the age of 53. The actor confirmed the heartbreaking news in March 2024, stating that her “passing has left a huge hole in our lives as a family,” in an emotional statement.
He also added that Samantha was his “most trusted confidant and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career”.
Warwick and Samantha had been married for 33 years and share two children together. The pair’s love story began when Warwick, then 17, bagged the lead role as Willow Ufgood in the 1988 film Willow alongside Val Kilmer. Samantha, then 16, was an extra on the set of the movie and sparks flew between the pair.
Four years later, the duo tied the knot in 1991 and then went on to have four children. Tragically their firstborn, Lloyd, passed away after just nine days.
They later welcomed their daughter, Anabelle Davis, 27, in 1997 who has since made her mark in the entertainment world with roles in Hollyoaks and The Dumping Ground. They also suffered the loss of another son, George, when Samantha was 19 weeks pregnant, having suffered two miscarriages before Annabelle and Harrison.
In a heart-to-heart with Bear Grylls in 2019, Warwick shared: “Prior to Annabelle and Harrison we had a baby boy, Lloyd, who inherited both our conditions… and that is something that proves fatal.
“It’s something that a baby won’t survive. But Lloyd survived for nine days, but yeah he was beautiful. It was a tough time. And yeah, we had a stillborn too.”
Despite the devastating losses, Warwick says that these experiences brought him and Samantha closer together. Warwick’s dwarfism is caused by a rare genetic condition, spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED). His parents were informed that he wouldn’t walk and wouldn’t live past his teenage years.
Meanwhile Samantha had achondroplasia, which is the most common type of dwarfism. Both Annabelle and Harrison have SED.
In 2018 Samantha developed sepsis following surgery, leaving her family preparing for the worst. Warwick recounted to The Sun the harrowing time: “I broke down every night thinking that this terrible illness that came out of nowhere might take my soulmate away from me.”
Warwick later confessed that in 2022 she was dealing with “some PTSD from her experience,” and disclosed that he too was grappling with it.
Following Samantha’s passing last year, Warwick honoured his wife’s indomitable spirit in a moving statement. “She was a unique character, always seeing the sunny side of life she had a wicked sense of humour and always laughed at my bad jokes,” he said.
Their loving children praised their mother as well: “Mum is our best friend and we’re honoured to have received a love like hers. With her by my side, I was sure I could achieve anything, it was like having a super-power.”
Warwick attributed his career accomplishments to his wife’s support, confessing: “Without Sammy, there would have been no Tenable quiz show, no Willow series. No Idiot Abroad Series 3. She was passionate about helping people, without judgment. She had time for everyone and a genuine listening ear.”
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