Warwick Davis’ wife Samantha tragically dies aged 53: Heartbroken Harry Potter star pays tribute to his ‘favourite human’ who he met on the set of Willow and had three children with during three-decades long marriage

Harry Potter star Warwick Davis has paid tribute to his wife this evening following her death at the age of 53.

Samantha Davis, who was an actor herself and met her husband when she played an uncredited role in his 1988 film Willow, tragically died on March 24.

Star Wars actor Davis paid an emotional tribute to his ‘favorite human’ with whom he was married for more than thirty years and shared three children.

‘Her death has left a huge hole in our lives as a family. I miss her hugs,” the 54-year-old said in a statement to the channel BBC.

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.

Davis said he felt like he could accomplish anything with his wife by his side, compared to feeling like he had a “superpower.”

He said her mobility had deteriorated in recent years but said she was determined not to let it undermine her.

She faced death in 2019 when she became ill with sepsis ahead of a family vacation.

Davis previously told how he and the couple’s children “kind of said goodbye” at her bedside before she came through.

The actor and his wife lost son Lloyd just nine days after he was born in 1991, the year they married.

Davis said in 2022 that he wouldn’t wish the “devastating” experience on anyone, adding: “You never get over it.”

He and Samantha met when Davis starred as wizard Willow Ufgood in the 1988 film named after the character.

Samantha 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.

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.

Davis and his wife have daughter Annabelle, 27, and son Harrison, 21, together.

Harrison also appeared as a goblin in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Annabelle played Lacey Lloyd in Hollyoaks until January this year.

Speaking to People in 2022 about the death of his first son, Davis said: “I guess it brings you closer together or something, but it’s an experience I wouldn’t wish on anyone, it’s devastating.

‘You learn to live with it, eventually over time you can understand better why it happened and you can come to terms with it a little more, but you never get over it.

“I think the losses shaped our family dynamic. We love Annabelle and Harrison all the more for having them 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 suffered a miscarriage at 20 weeks in 1993.

Davis added: “We will always remember what happened to George and Lloyd. We will always be grateful that we had them for such a short time.”

The star previously said the tragedies have made him and Samantha stronger as a couple.

Speaking on Bear Grylls’ television show Bear’s Mission in 2018, he said: ‘Before Annabelle and Harrison we had a little boy, Lloyd, who inherited both of our conditions… and that’s something that’s proving to be fatal.

‘It’s something a baby won’t survive. But Lloyd who he lived for survived nine days, but yes, he was beautiful… but it was a hard time. And yes, we also had a stillborn child.’

The star said he and his wife endured the painful time together, saying: ‘Stuff like that, it just makes you stronger [as a couple].’

Davis was born with an extremely rare condition called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED), in which the bone ends fail to form. It meant he never grew taller than 5 feet 6 inches.

His wife had another form of dwarfism called achondroplasia.

Samantha became ill with sepsis ahead of a family holiday at the caravan in 2019.

She initially thought that her complaints were caused by stress during the preparation for the trip.

When her exhaustion meant she could no longer stand without support, her husband called an out-of-hours doctor and she was rushed to hospital.

Davis said in 2022: “The next few hours were the longest of my life as I waited on the ward with our children in the empty space next to Sam’s hospital bed. I hoped it wouldn’t symbolize a future for us without her.”

He continued: Our family gathered at her bedside; Although we were optimistic, we actually said goodbye in case Sam didn’t survive.”

“It’s so hard to see someone you love more than anything in the world fighting to stay alive without the strength to even turn over in bed.”

Doctors were concerned about a scar on Samantha’s back from a recent spinal surgery she had. Davis said it was “inflamed by fluid, red and hot to the touch.”

Tests revealed that Sam had a deadly Streptococcus bacteria and a meningitis infection, meaning she needed emergency surgery.

However, she pulled through and was helped again by Davis over the course of three months.

Davis reprized his role as Ufgood in the TV series Willow, which aired in 2022 but was canceled after just one season.