Latest news with #SamanthaDavis
The Guardian
14-04-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Warwick Davis's wife Samantha died hours before hospital discharge, inquest finds
The actor and campaigner Samantha Davis, the wife of Harry Potter star Warwick Davis, died after suffering a cardiac arrest hours before a hospital was planning to discharge her, an inquest has found. Davis, who co-founded Little People UK – the dwarfism charity known as 'an essential resource for little people and their families' – died aged 53 at London's University College hospital on 24 March last year. Prof Fiona Wilcox, of Inner West London coroner's court, concluded during Davis's inquest on Monday that she had died of arrhythmic cardiac arrest after complications of essential surgical treatment. Davis was admitted to hospital on 7 February last year following a sudden loss of mobility in her lower limbs after a disc prolapse. On 20 February, and then again on 14 March, she had a thoracotomy operation – a surgical procedure where the chest wall is opened. Upon the second surgery, her condition improved and the University College hospital at Westmoreland Street was planning to discharge her, the inquest heard. However, Davis went into cardiac arrest at 11.25pm on 23 March and was pronounced dead in the early hours of the morning on 24 March, following a failed resuscitation attempt. 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.' According to Wilcox, Davis had achondroplasia, a bone growth disorder that results in dwarfism, which was 'complicated by very severe spinal problems' requiring multiple surgeries from 2016. The coroner said: 'In my view, if this compression hadn't occurred, Ms Davis simply wouldn't have been so unwell. She wouldn't have needed two lots of major surgeries.' She commended the 'excellent care' provided by the hospital, noting that it was 'frankly heartbreaking' that the surgery itself was successful only for complications to arise and to cause her death. Upon her death last year, Samantha Davis was described by her husband as 'the greatest love of his life'. Speaking about his wife, he said: '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. 'Without Sammy, there would have been no Tenable quizshow, no Willow series. No Idiot Abroad series 3.' Warwick Davis said Samantha was his 'most trusted confidante and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career' and that having her by his side felt 'like having a superpower'. He dedicated his Bafta film fellowship award to his wife during an emotional tribute at the ceremony in February. Additional reporting: PA Media
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Warwick Davis's wife died after cardiac arrest
Samantha Davis, the actress and wife of Warwick Davis, died after suffering a cardiac arrest hours before a hospital was planning to discharge her, an inquest has found. Ms Davis died aged 53 at University College Hospital in London on 24 March last year. She had been admitted to hospital on 7 February following a sudden loss of mobility in her lower limbs after a disc prolapse. The inquest at Inner West London Coroner's Court concluded Ms Davis died of arrhythmic cardiac arrest following complications of essential surgical treatment. Ms Davis had undergone a thoracotomy operation - a surgical procedure where the chest wall is opened - in the February before her death. Her condition improved following a further thoracotomy a month later and the University College Hospital at Westmoreland Street was planning to discharge her, the inquest heard. However, Ms Davis went into cardiac arrest at 23:25 GMT on 23 March and was pronounced dead at 00:28 on 24 March following a failed attempt to resuscitate her. Professor Fiona Wilcox, senior coroner for Inner West London, 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 said Ms Davis had achondroplasia, a bone growth disorder which results in dwarfism, that was "complicated by spinal cord compression". The coroner said: "In my view, if this compression hadn't occurred, Ms Davis simply wouldn't have been so unwell. "She wouldn't have needed two lots of major surgeries." Discussing the care she received in hospital, Prof Wilcox said: "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." 'I miss her hugs': Warwick Davis's tribute to wife Hospice charity pays tribute to Samantha Davis Together with her husband, Ms Davis co-founded the charity Little People UK in 2012 to help individuals with dwarfism and their families. The couple starred together in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, where Ms Davis played a goblin. Mr Davis, known for his roles in Star Wars and the Harry Potter films, dedicated his Bafta film fellowship award to Ms Davis during an emotional tribute at the ceremony in February. He 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". The couple met during the filming of 1988 fantasy movie Willow. They married in 1991 and have two children. Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to West London Coroner's Court
Sky News
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Warwick Davis's wife Samantha died hours before she was due to be discharged from hospital, inquest hears
Actress Samantha Davis, the wife of Warwick Davis, died after suffering a cardiac arrest hours before she was due to be discharged from hospital, an inquest has found. Mrs Davis, 53, died at London's University College Hospital on 24 March last year. She had been admitted six and a half weeks earlier, after a disc prolapse caused a sudden loss of mobility in her lower limbs. She then underwent a thoracotomy operation - a surgical procedure where the chest wall is opened - on 20 February. Following a second thoracotomy on 14 March, Mrs Davis's condition improved and the hospital was planning to discharge her, the inquest at Inner West London Coroner's Court heard. However, she went into cardiac arrest at 11.25pm on 23 March, and was pronounced dead at 0.28am on 24 March, after a failed attempt to resuscitate her. Senior coroner Professor Fiona Wilcox said she was satisfied the cause of death "should be arrhythmic cardiac arrest and complications following left thoracotomies". Mrs Davis had achondroplasia, a bone growth disorder which results in dwarfism, "complicated by very severe spinal problems" requiring multiple surgeries from 2016, the coroner added. The hospital delivered "nothing but excellent care" and all of Mrs Davis's "complications were appropriately managed", Prof Wilcox said. "It is frankly heartbreaking that the surgery itself was successful only for complications to arise and to cause her death," she added. David Lawrence, a cardiothoracic surgeon at University College London Hospitals, said Mrs Davis's condition had been "progressing well". During her hospital stay, she had two surgical chest drains removed - the second on the day she suffered the cardiac arrest, he said. "Very sadly, on the night this happened, the original plan had been that she would be discharged home the following day," he told the inquest. "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." Mr Davis, known for his film roles in the Star Wars and Harry Potter series, dedicated his BAFTA film fellowship award to Mrs Davis during an emotional tribute at the ceremony in February. The couple met on the set of 1988 film Willow. They married three years later and have two children. They founded the charity Little People UK in 2012 to help individuals with dwarfism and their families.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Warwick Davis's wife Samantha died hours before she was due to be discharged from hospital, inquest hears
Actress Samantha Davis, the wife of Warwick Davis, died after suffering a cardiac arrest hours before she was due to be discharged from hospital, an inquest has found. at London's University College Hospital on 24 March last year. She had been admitted six and a half weeks earlier, after a disc prolapse caused a sudden loss of mobility in her lower limbs. She then underwent a thoracotomy operation - a surgical procedure where the chest wall is opened - on 20 February. Following a second thoracotomy on 14 March, Mrs Davis's condition improved and the hospital was planning to discharge her, the inquest at Inner West London Coroner's Court heard. However, she went into cardiac arrest at 11.25pm on 23 March, and was pronounced dead at 0.28am on 24 March, after a failed attempt to resuscitate her. Senior coroner Professor Fiona Wilcox said she was satisfied the cause of death "should be arrhythmic cardiac arrest and complications following left thoracotomies". Mrs Davis had achondroplasia, a bone growth disorder which results in dwarfism, "complicated by very severe spinal problems" requiring multiple surgeries from 2016, the coroner added. The hospital delivered "nothing but excellent care" and all of Mrs Davis's "complications were appropriately managed", Prof Wilcox said. "It is frankly heartbreaking that the surgery itself was successful only for complications to arise and to cause her death," she added. David Lawrence, a cardiothoracic surgeon at University College London Hospitals, said Mrs Davis's condition had been "progressing well". During her hospital stay, she had two surgical chest drains removed - the second on the day she suffered the cardiac arrest, he said. "Very sadly, on the night this happened, the original plan had been that she would be discharged home the following day," he told the inquest. "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." Read more: , known for his film roles in the Star Wars and Harry Potter series, dedicated his BAFTA film fellowship award to Mrs Davis during an emotional tribute at the ceremony in February. The couple met on the set of 1988 film Willow. They married three years later and have two children. They founded the charity Little People UK in 2012 to help individuals with dwarfism and their families.
