Harry Potter star Warwick Davis is suing a London hospital for medical negligence following the death of his wife Samantha last year.
Samantha Davis, 53, who was an actor herself, died on March 24 last year.
Warwick, 54, has instructed law firm Irwin Mitchell to represent his family following Samantha’s death. Specialist medical negligence lawyer Madeline Nugent is working with them to further investigate the circumstances of her death.
Coroner Ms Jean Harkin today said her inquest would answer questions about the circumstances surrounding Samantha’s death.
Mr Davis and his daughter Annabelle were due to take part in the proceedings, which were held remotely from the Coroner’s Court in Inner West London today.
However, the hearing was dramatically postponed before any evidence was presented to the court as Mr Davis was unable to connect remotely.
Davis family counsel William Chapman told the court that Warwick’s internet connection to the ‘Team’s hearing’ kept ‘dropping out’.
And the lawyer suggested the hearing be adjourned to ensure Mr Davis could monitor the inquest and contribute fully.
Samantha Davis (pictured with Warwick), who met her husband on the set of his 1988 film Willow. She died in March 2024 at the age of 53. Warwick is now suing the hospital that treated her
Warwick with his wife Samantha and children Harrison and Annabelle at the screening of Disney+ series Willow in 2022
Warwick Davis and his wife Samantha on their wedding day in 1991. They were married for more than thirty years
Assistant coroner Jean Harkin agreed to an adjournment, telling the court: ‘Warwick Davis would most likely be happy to be part of this inquest.
‘At the next hearing I will make sure nothing is on my calendar that day…I will give it a full day if I apply again [the inquest].’
Davis family counsel William Chapman responded: “We are pleased with your suggestion and are grateful for it,” adding that the family would like the proceedings to be held remotely again.
The inquest, which has been adjourned to a future date ‘as soon as possible’, is expected to determine whether the treatment Samantha received at University College London Hospital for a spinal condition contributed to her death.
She became seriously ill in 2019 with sepsis, which led to intensive care treatment. This followed operations on her spine which were carried out at University College London Hospital.
Samantha met her husband of 33 years when she played an uncredited role in his 1988 film Willow.
The couple married in 1991 and had three children, Lloyd, Harrison and Annabelle, but tragically their eldest died just nine days after his birth.
Star Wars actor Davis paid an emotional tribute to Samantha, who he described as his ‘favorite human’, after her death last year.
The couple’s children (all pictured together) said they were ‘honored to have received love like hers’
During their 33-year marriage, they had three children, one of whom tragically died shortly after birth. The couple is pictured in 1996
Warwick Davis and his wife Samantha are pictured with their two children at the European premiere of Star Wars in December 2015
“Her death has left a huge hole in our lives as a family,” the 54-year-old said in a statement. “I miss her hugs.”
He described Sammy, as he called her, as his “most trusted confidante and a fierce supporter of everything I have done in my career.”
“She was a unique character, always saw the bright side of life, had a wicked sense of humor and always laughed at my bad jokes,” Davis added.
The couple’s children, Harrison and Annabelle, said that “her love and happiness carried us throughout our lives.” “Mom is our best friend and we are honored to have received love like hers,” they added.
Ms. Davis was diagnosed as a child with achondroplasia, a bone growth disorder that causes dwarfism.
Her husband suffers from a similar condition: spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita. It meant he never grew taller than 5 feet 6 inches.
Following Mrs Davis’ death, her husband paid a heartbreaking tribute to his lifelong partner.
He said he felt like he could achieve anything with his wife by his side and that it felt like he had a “superpower.”
The actor and his wife lost son Lloyd just nine days after he was born in 1991, the year they married
Warwick and Samantha Davis with their children Harrison and Annabelle at the 2017 California premiere of Star Wars: the Last Jedi
Warwick Davis and wife Samantha at the Children’s BAFTA Awards in November 2011
Samantha Davis with her husband as he starred in Spamalot at the Playhouse Theatre, London, in 2013
“She was a unique character, always saw the bright side of life, had a wicked sense of humor and always laughed at my bad jokes,” Davis said in a statement to the BBC at the time of her death.
Mr Davis said his wife’s mobility had deteriorated in recent years but said she was determined not to let it bring her down.
She faced death in 2019 when she became ill with sepsis ahead of a family vacation.
The actor and his wife lost son Lloyd just nine days after he was born in 1991, the year they married.
Mr Davis said in 2022 that he would not wish the “devastating” experience on anyone, adding: “You never get over it.”
He and Ms Davis – co-founder of the charity Little People UK – met when Mr Davis starred as wizard Willow Ufgood in the 1988 film named after the character.
Mrs Davis and her father Peter – Davis’ business partner – played small roles as villagers.
She also had an uncredited role as a goblin in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 2011, in which Davis portrayed Filius Flitwick, the Hogwarts charms professor, for the last time.
In 1989 she appeared in the BBC educational series Through the Dragon’s Eye.
Mr Davis and Mr Burroughs, 77, co-founded Willow Management in 1995 with the aim of changing the way people with dwarfism were depicted on screen.
Mr. Burroughs is also an actor and has appeared on stage as well as in TV and film productions, including The Legend of King Arthur, Hamlet and as Ewok in the 1983 Star Wars film Return of the Jedi.