Warwick Davis’ acceptance speech proved to be an emotional stand-out during this year’s Baftas ceremony.
On Sunday evening, the Tenable host was recognised with a Bafta Fellowship award, following in the footsteps of recent recipients like filmmaker Sir Ridley Scott, actor Samantha Morton and James Bond producer Kathleen Kennedy.
After an introduction from Star Wars’ Mark Hamill and Harry Potter’s Tom Felton, Warwick gave a poignant speech that was full of brilliant one-liners, but also reflected on his recent loss.
“Above all I would like to dedicate and thank my wonderful wife Sammy, who died almost a year ago,” he told the stars in attendance. “She was always so supportive of my career, encouraging me to grab every opportunity with both hands.
“However, I soon noticed that her level of enthusiasm for me taking a particular role was often relative to how much she wanted that new designer handbag.”
“Since then, life has been pretty tough for me,” Warwick continued. “But thanks to the support of our wonderful children, Annabelle and Harrison, I’ve been able to continue working and engaging in life.”
Watch Warwick Davis’ Baftas speech for yourself below:
Samantha Davis, an actor and the founder of the charity Little People UK, died in March 2024.
Describing Samantha as his “most trusted confidant and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career”, Warwick said at the time: “Her passing has left a huge hole in our lives as a family. I miss her hugs.”
Warwick and Samantha met in 1988 on the set of the film Willow, in which he played the titular sorcerer, and eventually married in 1991.