Warwick Davis and his wife Sammy
TV

Inside Warwick Davis’ life of love and loss with wife of 32 years Sammy: First meeting, death of two children and heartbreaking stillbirth that ‘made them stronger’

The Tenable host lost his wife earlier this year

| Updated:

Earlier this year, Tenable favourite Warwick Davis shared his heartbreak following the death of his wife Sammy.

The couple, who shared two grown-up children, were married for 32 years. And, over the course of their marriage, suffered immeasurable grief as they endured the loss of their two other beloved children.

However, their dwarfism appears to have only made the couple stronger. Here, we look back on their heartwarming bond and their heartbreaking losses…

warwick davis family
Warwick and wife Sammy were married for 32 years (Credit: Splash News)

Warwick Davis and wife Sammy

TV favourite Warwick wed the lovely Samantha, who he affectionately called Sammy, in 1991.

The couple met on the set of the 1988 film Willow.

Warwick was playing the title role, while Sammy and her dad were employed as extras.

Read more: Warwick Davis’ wife’s battle with sepsis that left her fearing she would die

Sammy was the daughter of Warwick’s business partner Peter Burroughs and they had minor roles as Nelwyn villagers in the film.

Love blossomed for the pair and they tied the knot three years later.

warwick davis family
Warwick Davis and wife Sammy had two kids together – Harrison and Annabelle (Credit: Splash News)

The couple’s two children and two heartbreaking losses

Warwick and Sammy shared two children – daughter Annabelle – an actress – and son Harrison.

Warwick and the kids all have a form of dwarfism caused by an extremely rare genetic condition called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED).

Sammy, meanwhile, had a condition called achondroplasia.

Sadly the couple have suffered heartbreaking loss when it comes to their family.

Tragically, the couple’s first two children, sons Lloyd and George, died shortly after birth, having had a fatal combination of their parents’ conditions.

Speaking on TV show Bear’s Mission with Bear Grylls, Warwick opened up about the loss.

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. He was beautiful… but it was a tough time. And we had a stillborn too.”

‘We are better people for it’

In 2014, Sammy opened up to the Daily Mail about the loss of Lloyd, revealing it hit the couple “like a train”.

She said: “When they wanted to turn the machine off I said: ‘No, no, no,’ but they said: ‘Look, we’ll just give him to you and he will just go to sleep in your arms.’ And he did.

“I’m so glad he didn’t die on the machine now. We gave him everything we could.

“At Lloyd’s funeral I was proud. I was his mum and how lucky was I? I had the best nine days ever. You have to turn it round like that. It may sound like an odd thing to say, we are better people for it.

“It could easily have broken us, but it didn’t. If anything we became stronger as a couple.”

The couple tried for another child years later and baby George was stillborn at 19 weeks.

Warwick Davis announces wife Sammy’s death

Warwick announced his wife’s death in a statement to the BBC in April 17.

He said that she died on March 24. In a statement, Warwick said: “Her passing has left a huge hole in our lives as a family. I miss her hugs. 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.”

Sammy’s cause of death hasn’t been revealed.

Back in October 2023, Warwick had shared the couple’s last picture together as they enjoyed a date night. It showed Warwick and Samantha smiling as they took a selfie.

Tenable is on ITV1 weekdays at 3pm.

YouTube video player

Head to our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and tell us what you think of our story.


Nancy Brown
Associate Editor