Warwick Davis‘ wife Samantha died just hours before she was due to be discharged from hospital after her condition had been ‘progressing well’, an inquest heard.
The 53-year-old actress tragically passed away in the early hours of March 24 last year at London’s University College Hospital, after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest at 11.25pm the day before.
Despite desperate efforts to resuscitate her, Mrs Davis was pronounced dead at 12.28am.
The inquest at Inner West London Coroner’s Court yesterday revealed she had been admitted to hospital six-and-a-half weeks earlier after a disc prolapse left her suddenly unable to move her lower limbs.
She underwent a thoracotomy – a major surgical procedure to open the chest wall – on February 20, followed by a second thoracotomy on March 14.
Her condition appeared to improve following the second surgery and plans were being made to send her home.
But devastatingly, she went into cardiac arrest just hours before she was due to leave hospital.
Senior coroner Professor Fiona Wilcox ruled her cause of death as ‘arrhythmic cardiac arrest and complications following left thoracotomies’.
She explained that Mrs Davis had achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, which was ‘complicated by very severe spinal problems’ and had required multiple surgeries since 2016.
She also praised the care given by hospital staff, telling the court, the hospital delivered ‘nothing but excellent care’ and all of Mrs Davis’s ‘complications were appropriately managed’.
The actress and wife of Warwick Davis, Samantha Davis, died in March last year as a result of a cardiac arrest following complications of essential surgery, an inquest has concluded
Warwick and Samantha Davis with their children Harrison and Annabelle at the premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in California in 2017
The couple’s children said they were ‘honoured to have received a love like hers’
David Lawrence, a cardiothoracic surgeon at University College London Hospitals, said Samantha’s recovery had been going well and that she had stable readings.
He told the inquest: ‘Very sadly, on the night this happened, the original plan had been that she would be discharged home the following day.
‘We had good evidence that this patient had a chest x-ray that was acceptable, very stable observations and this patient did not bleed during the day.’
During her stay, two surgical chest drains had been removed — the second of which came out on the very same day she died.
Senior Coroner for Inner West London, Prof Wilcox, said: ‘I am satisfied that the medical cause of death should be arrhythmic cardiac arrest and complications following left thoracotomies.
‘In my view, the stress of everything together has precipitated this arrhythmic cardiac arrest in a lady who was not known to have any previous arrhythmia problems.’
The coroner added: ‘I have found nothing but excellent care being delivered to this lady and all of her complications were appropriately managed.
‘It is frankly heartbreaking that the surgery itself was successful only for complications to arise and to cause her death.’
Mr Davis dedicated his Bafta film fellowship award to his late wife during an emotional tribute at the ceremony in February.
The couple met during the filming of 1988 fantasy movie Willow, in which he had a starring role as the hero Willow Ufgood. They married in 1991 and have two children.
They also had a third child, however he tragically died nine days after being born.
The family have instructed lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to support them through the inquest.
Warwick Davis and his wife Samantha on their wedding day in 1991. They were married for more than three decades
Warwick Davis and wife Samantha at the Children’s BAFTA Awards in November 2011
In a statement released through their solicitors ahead of the hearing, the family said: ‘We know that the resilience and strength Sammy instilled in all of us will guide us through this difficult next chapter.
‘Her love, support, and determination is a legacy we want to continue. Sammy’s Helping Hands fund, which was set up in her honour, has already had a huge impact on young people in the dwarfism community, and will continue to support families all over the UK moving forwards.
‘The last year and trying to come to terms with Samantha’s death has been incredibly difficult.
‘However, we hope that the inquest will at last provide us with answers.
‘We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their kindness and well-wishes to us all.’
In February, Davis dedicated his Bafta film fellowship award to his late wife with an emotional tribute.
He said ‘life has been pretty tough’ since she died, and ‘she was always so supportive of my career, encouraging me to grab every opportunity with both hands’.
He added: ‘Thanks to the support of our wonderful children I’ve been able to continue working and engaging in life.’
Warwick Davis rose to fame as an 11-year-old after being cast as an Ewok in Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi.
He reprised the role Willow Ufgood in a 2022 Disney+ series.
Together with Samantha, he co-founded Little People UK in 2012 to help individuals with dwarfism and their families.
The pair also starred together in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, where Samantha played a goblin.
He played Professor Flitwick in all eight films in the Harry Potter franchise and also portrayed the Gringotts Wizarding Bank goblin Griphook.
Samantha Davis (pictured with Warwick), who met her husband on the set of his 1988 film Willow. She died aged 53 in March 2024
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 are pictured with their children at the European premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in London in December 2015
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
He described Sammy, as he called her, as his ‘most trusted confidant and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career’.
He added: ‘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.’
The couple’s children, Harrison and Annabelle, said ‘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,’ they added.
Samantha was diagnosed with achondroplasia, a bone growth disorder that causes dwarfism, as a child.
Her husband is affected by a similar condition, spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita. It meant he never grew taller than 3ft 6in.
After Samantha’s death, Warwick said he felt like he could achieve anything with his wife by his side and that it felt like he had a ‘superpower’.