Samantha Davis: Actress and wife of Warwick Davis died due to cardiac arrest, inquest reveals

Senior Coroner for Inner West London, Professor Fiona 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.”

Prof Wilcox 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.”

Samantha died aged 53 at University College Hospital in London on March 24 last year.

Davis, known for his roles in Star Wars and the Harry Potter films, dedicated his Bafta film fellowship award to Samantha 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.

In a statement released through their solicitors, Irwin Mitchell 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 his tribute, Davis 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.”

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.