For Harry Potter star Warwick Davis and his wife Samantha, starting a family didn't come easy.
The couple had met as teenagers - Warwick was just 17 when he landed the lead role as Willow Ufgood in the 1988 movie Willow, alongside Val Kilmer, with his 16-year-old future wife playing an extra in the film.
The soulmates quickly fell in love and tied the knot four years later, in 1991. Warwick and Samantha were married for 33 years and had children Annabelle and Harrison together before her sad death last March.
The 53-year-old suffered health complications caused the sepsis she contracted in 2018 after undergoing spine surgery. She nearly died at the time, with the family gathering by her bedside to say their goodbyes.
An inquest into Samantha's death was today, adjourned before any evidence was presented, as Warwick was unable to connect remotely to the court. According to the Daily Mail, the star is suing a London hospital claiming medical negligence in relation to his wife's passing.
Samantha and Warwick developed PTSD as a result and Warwick called the hours he spent waiting for news of his wife's surgery the 'longest of my life'. "I broke down every night thinking that this terrible illness that came out of nowhere might take my soulmate away from me," he told the Sun.
The traumatised couple had already suffered a significant deal of tragedy at this point. Their firstborn child Lloyd died at just nine days old. "Prior to Annabelle and Harrison we had a baby boy, Lloyd, who inherited both our conditions… and that is something that proves fatal," the Extras star told Bear Grylls in 2019. "It's something that a baby won't survive. But Lloyd survived for nine days, but yeah he was beautiful. It was a tough time. And yeah, we had a stillborn too."
Warwick's dwarfism is caused by a rare genetic condition called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED), which causes skeletal abnormalities and problems with vision and hearing. His parents were told that he wouldn't walk and wouldn't live past his teenage years. Samantha had achondroplasia, which is the most common type of dwarfism, a genetic bone-growth disorder that leads to short limbs.
The couple lost their son George when Samantha was 19 weeks pregnant and suffered two further miscarriages before they welcomed their daughter Annabelle in 1997. Now 27, she has followed in her parents footsteps into acting, with parts in Hollyoaks and The Dumping Ground.
Speaking after his wife's death, Warwick said her 'passing has left a huge hole in our lives as a family', adding that Samantha was his 'most trusted confidant and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career.'
"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," said the bereft widower. "Without Sammy, there would have been no Tenable quiz show, no Willow series. No Idiot Abroad Series 3. She was passionate about helping people, without judgment. She had time for everyone and a genuine listening ear."
"Mum is our best friend and we're honoured to have received a love like hers," added Samantha's children. "With her by my side, I was sure I could achieve anything, it was like having a super-power."
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