Warwick Davis’ is pictured with his mystery girlfriend he’s nicknamed ‘Sponge’ as it’s revealed the couple have been dating for a year following the tragic death of his wife.
The Harry Potter star, 56, has was pictured with the attractive brunette at the BAFTA awards where he paid tribute to her in his acceptance speech for ‘helping him find love again.’
The couple were also pictured backstage at a Madness concert and she accompanied Warwick and his two children when he accepted his OBE at Windsor Castle earlier this week.
Sources close to the couple say they have been dating for a year and a apparently ‘happier than ever’ together.
Warwick’s girlfriend is helping him rebuild his life after his wife Samantha suffered a cardiac arrest in 2024 aged 53.
A source told the Dailt Mail: ‘Warwick has been with his girlfriend for over a year now and they couldn’t be happier.
‘She has no interest in being a public figure and — although she has accompanied Warwick to events — she does not court the limelight.
‘She is so proud of Warwick and loves to be by his side at events, but she will stand back and allow him to be in the spotlight.
Warwick Davis and his mystery girlfriend were pictured together at last month’s BAFTA Awards
The pair were also seen together having a giggle backstage at a Madness concert at the Eden Project
The woman Warwick affectionately calls ‘Sponge’ was also alongside his two children this week at Windsor Castle as the actor accepted an OBE from the Prince of Wales
‘She is close with his children and they have a lovely life together. All anyone wanted was to see Warwick happy and he has that with his girlfriend.’
Arriving at Wndsor Castle, Warwick was seen conversing with Prince William as he accepted the honour, with the girlfriend and his daughter Annabelle, 28, and son Harrison, 23, looking on.
He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama and charity.
His girlfriend also attended the Bafta Film Awards with Warrick at London’s Royal Festival Hall last month.
Last July, the couple were also seen backstage together at a Madness concert in Cornwall.
Warwick revealed he had found love again with a mystery women during his acceptance speech, after being awarded with the BAFTA Fellowship.
He said: ‘Special mention should go to Sponge, you know who you are.
‘Thank you for showing me that life can still have meaning and for helping me to laugh and to love again.’
Asked about the identity of ‘Sponge’ last year, Warwick said on The Jonathan Ross Show: ‘I can reveal, sticking with the Harry Potter theme, Sponge is indeed She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.’
Referring to Daisy May Cooper’s character, Kerry Mucklowe, from comedy series This Country, Warwick adds: ‘Sponge very much reminds me of Kerry. Some of the things she says and her accent.’
Warwick also spoke about his emotional tribute to his late wife Samantha during his acceptance speech, saying: ‘When you go through your career as an actor, you sometimes become a bit reluctant to do certain jobs thinking another one will come along and be a bit better.
‘She would always say ‘get out there and do it’. She was great at networking as well, always talking to producers and getting me the work in the next job. Very supportive. You need that in this business because it is difficult. You’ve got to have someone who is very supportive of you being away on occasions and working ridiculous hours.’
Warwick added: ‘Acting is quite a lonely career, really. You need a solid foundation at home to support that and make it work.’
Warwick’s late wife Samantha Davis, who was also an actress, died aged 53 at University College Hospital in London on March 24, 2024
He was also joined by his daughter Annabelle, 28, and son Harrison, 23, as he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama and charity
Arriving for the ceremony, Warwick was seen conversing with Prince William as he accepted the honour, with his girlfriend and his children watching on
The Prince of Wales knelt down to give Warwick his OBE and apparently said he was surprised the popular actor hadn’t been given the award before now
Warwick’s late wife Samantha, who was also an actress, died aged at University College Hospital in London.
An inquest into her death concluded that she died as a result of a cardiac arrest following complications from an essential surgery.
She fell ill with sepsis in 2019 which led to intensive care treatment. This followed operations on her spine that were undertaken at University College London Hospital.
Warwick dedicated his BAFTA Film Fellowship Award to his late wife during an emotional tribute at the ceremony.
He said: ‘Above all I would like to dedicate and thank my wonderful wife Sammy who died almost a year ago. She was always so supportive of my career and encouraged me to grab every opportunity with both hands.’
His children were both seen crying in the audience as their dad thanked them helping him get through the tough year.
He said: ‘Since then, life has been pretty tough for me but thanks to the support of our wonderful children Annabelle and Harrison, I’ve been able to continue working and engaging in life.’
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.
Alongside their daughter Annabelle and son Harrison, Warwick and Samantha also had a third child, however he tragically died nine days after being born.
Warwick said in 2022 that he would not wish the ‘devastating’ experience of losing their son on anyone and added: ‘You never get over it.’
Samantha was then struck down with sepsis, five years before her death, with Warwick keeping vigil at her hospital bedside as she fought for her life.
Their family had been gearing up for a caravan holiday in 2019 when she suddenly fell ill with a mystery condition, something she put down to stress.
However, she became gravely unwell and left on the brink of death before thankfully making a remarkable recovery.
Samantha then tragically died in 2024, with Warwick releasing a touching statement where he said her passing had ‘left a huge hole in our lives’ and paid tribute to his ‘favourite human’.
He described Sammy, as he called her, as his ‘most trusted confidant and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career’.
A source said: ‘Warwick has been with his girlfriend for over a year now and they couldn’t be happier. She has no interest in being a public figure but is so proud of Warwick and loves to be by his side at events’
The Star Wars actor said he felt like he could achieve anything with his wife by his side and that it felt like he had a ‘superpower’.
‘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,’ Warwick said in a statement given to the BBC.
Following the inquest into Samantha’s death, Senior coroner Professor Fiona Wilcox ruled her cause of death as ‘arrhythmic cardiac arrest and complications following left thoracotomies’.
She explained that she 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 Samantha’s ‘complications were appropriately managed’.
She 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.’
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.’
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.’
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.
Best known for roles such as Professor Flitwick and goblin Griphook in Harry Potter, as well as his comedic adventures with Karl Pilkington in An Idiot Abroad, Warwick is particularly commended for his advocacy for people with dwarfism.
He co-founded the charity Little People UK in 2012 with his late wife Samantha, to support people with dwarfism and their families.
Davis has confirmed he will return to the world of wizardry for the new Harry Potter series reboot and reprise his role as Professor Flitwick.
