Inside Warwick and Samantha Davis’ great love affair: Star fell for his ‘soul mate’ on
Warwick Davis fell for his ‘soul mate’ Samantha on the set of Willow in 1988 when the pair were teenagers.
Three years later the couple wed but over the next three decades before her tragic death they had endured heartbreaking family tragedy with the deaths of two children as well as Samantha’s own health battles.
Warwick confirmed yesterday that his ‘favourite human’ had died aged 53 on March 24 as the grieving widower heartbreakingly told of how he would miss her hugs.
He said in an emotional statement given to the BBC that her death has left a huge hole in our lives as a family.
He described Sammy, as he called her, as his ‘most trusted confidant and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career’. He said he felt like he could achieve anything with his wife by his side and that it felt like he had a ‘superpower’.
Warwick Davis and his wife Samantha on their wedding day in 1991. They were married for more than three decades
Samantha Davis (pictured with Warwick), who met her husband on the set of his 1988 film Willow, tragically died aged 53 on March 24
‘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,’ Warwick said in a statement given to the BBC.
Their two other children, Annabelle and Harrison, also paid tribute to their mother, saying: ‘Her love and happiness carried us through our whole lives’. Mum is our best friend and we’re honoured to have received a love like hers.’
Warwick said his wife’s mobility had become impaired in recent years but shared how she was determined not to let it bring her down.
The mother-of-two’s death comes five years after she battled back from a life-threatening infection after falling ill ahead of a family holiday in 2019.
Warwick broke down in tears last year as he told of how his family had gathered by her bedside as she fought against sepsis.
He told The Sun: ‘The next few hours were the longest of my life as I waited on the ward with our children in the empty space left by Sam’s hospital bed. I hoped it would not symbolise a future for us without her.’
The mother-of-two fell ill ahead of a 2019 family caravan holiday but convinced herself the symptoms were caused by stress from preparing for the trip.
He continued: ‘Our family gathered by her bedside; although optimistic, we were sort of saying goodbye in case Sam didn’t survive.’
The actor and his wife lost baby son Lloyd just nine days after he was born in 1991 – the year they got married
During their 33-year marriage, they had three children – one of whom tragically died shortly after he was born. The couple are pictured in 1996
The couple’s children (all pictured together) said they were ‘honoured to have received a love like hers’
Warwick and Samantha smile as they join the West End cast of Spamalot during a press night at the Playhouse Theatre in London in 2013
The Davis family attending the premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in LA in December 2017
‘It’s so hard to see someone you love more than anything in the world fighting to stay alive without the strength to even roll over in bed.’
The couple met on the set of George Lucas’s film Willow and married three years later in 1991. During their 33-year marriage, they had three children – one of whom tragically died shortly after he was born.
Speaking of his first son Lloyd’s death to People in 2022, Davis said: ‘I think it brings you closer together, or something like that, but it’s an experience I wouldn’t wish on anyone, it’s devastating.
‘You do learn to live with it, eventually, over time, you’re able to better understand why it happened and can come to terms with it a bit more, but you never get over it.
‘I think the losses shaped our family dynamic, we love Annabelle and Harrison all that more because they’re here with us.’
Lloyd inherited dwarfism from both his parents and died from complications caused by the condition.
The couple lost a second child – who they named George – when Samantha miscarried at 20 weeks in 1993.
Warwick added: ‘We’ll always remember what happened with George and Lloyd. We’ll always be grateful that we had them for the short time that we did.’
The star previously said the tragedies made him and Samantha stronger as a couple.
Warwick and Samantha smile and hold hands in the back of a taxi as they attend the Pride of Britain awards at The Grosvenor House Hotel in October 2014 in London
Warwick and Samantha attending the Willow television screening in London in November 2022 with their children Harrison and Annabelle
Warwick and Samantha Davis (left) appearing on ITV show All Star Mr and Mrs in 2012
Samantha and Warwick attending the ITV Palooza! held at The Royal Festival Hall in October, 2018 in London
The couple stand with arms wrapped around each other as they attend the Bafta Awards in London in November 2011
Annabelle, Samantha, Warwick, and Harrison attend a screening of Willow at The Magic Castle in Hollywood in 2022
Warwick and Samantha arriving for the opening night of From Here to Eternity at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London, in October 2013
Speaking on Bear Grylls’ television show Bear’s Mission in 2018, he said: ‘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 he lived for survived for nine days, but yeah he was beautiful… but it was a tough time. And yeah, we had a stillborn too.’
The star said he and his wife had made it through the painful time together, saying: ‘That kind of stuff it just makes you stronger [as a couple].’
Davis was born with an extremely rare condition called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED), where the bone endings fail to form. It meant he never grew taller than 3ft 6in.
His wife had a different form of dwarfism called achondroplasia.
He and Samantha – who co-founded the charity Little People UK – met when Davis starred as sorcerer Willow Ufgood in the 1988 film named after the character.
Samantha and her father Peter – who is Davis’s business partner – had minor roles as villagers.
She also had an uncredited role as a a goblin in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 2011, in which Davis portrayed Filius Flitwick – Hogwarts’ charms professor – for the final time.
In 1989, she had a part in BBC educational series Through the Dragon’s Eye.
Davis and Mr Burroughs, 77, co-founded Willow Management in 1995 with the aim of changing the way people with dwarfism were represented on screen.
Mr Burroughs is also an actor and has appeared both on stage and in TV and film productions including The Legend of King Arthur, Hamlet, and as an Ewok in 1983 Star Wars film Return of the Jedi.