Warwick Davis's year of hell as wife died and beloved ITV show was axed

Warwick Davis on the red carpet (Image: Getty)

Warwick Davis was left devastated when his wife Samantha died following hospital treatment for a spinal condition in March last year.

He is reportedly considering suing the hospital where she was treated for possible "medical negligence", with a hearing due to determine whether the treatment she received could have contributed to her cause of death. According to reports in The Sun, the 54-year-old is additionally working with the law firm Irwin Mitchell and the medical negligence solicitor Madeline Nugent.

However, the firm has stated that no legal action is taking place "at this time". The grief and uncertainty over his wife's death is coupled with his sadness that the TV gameshow he loved to host, Tenable, has been axed by ITV.

Despite his huge movie roles, including notable stints in the Harry Potter and Star Wars films, working on Tenable was said to have been his favourite thing to do. He'd been a host for almost a decade, helping guests as they played to win up to £125,000, but the show was thought to have been axed over a failure to bring in enough revenue.

Warwick received the devastating news in August 2024, less than six months after Samantha's death, leaving him feeling as though he'd endured a year from hell. He recently revealed he was ready to beg bosses for a revival of the show, but would need to make a case for its commercial viability.

Warwick Davis with his late wife Samantha at an event (Image: Getty)

He told the Daily Star: "The landscape of television has changed immensely with all the streaming services now.

"Unless you can pull in the advertisers, you can't get a show on."

However, he added with a trace of optimism: "One day it may become apparent that Tenable is viable once again. Maybe we could even do a Tenable film one day!"

A spokesperson at ITV acknowledged that it was "a much-loved game show" and had been since its launch nearly 20 years ago, but that fans would now be confined to watching re-runs on ITVX.

Warwick Davis hosting ITV's Tenable (Image: ITV)

That's something fans are continuing to do, according to Warwick, and he's joked that he should video people talking about their love of the show and send the footage to TV bosses to persuade them to revive it.

For the time being, however, the hole left by the loss of the show might be filled by his new movie project, Valeria 3D.

He'll star alongside WWE wrestler Nathan Jones, who's known for his appearances in films like Mad Max: Fury Road and Conan The Barbarian.

Having a focus may also help to heal his hurt following the death of his beloved wife, who had also fallen ill with sepsis back in 2019 after surgery took place on her spine.

Like Warwick, she had been diagnosed with a bone growth disorder that causes dwarfism in childhood, but had gone on to live a rewarding life in spite of any physical challenges.