BAFTA viewers are left asking who ‘Sponge’ is after Warwick Davis thanks mystery person for helping him to love again after tragic death of his wife
Warwick Davis was honoured at Sunday’s EE BAFTA Awards with its highest honour, the Fellowship.
The actor, 55, reduced viewers to tears as he paid tribute in his acceptance speed to his late wife Samantha – who tragically died last year aged 53.
But he also gave a shout out to a mystery person as he thanked someone referred to as ‘Sponge’ for helping him to ‘love again’.
Fighting back tears, his voice broke as 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.’
The message left fans speculating the identity of the mystery ‘Sponge’ who has helped the Harry Potter star through a difficult year, and wished the pair happiness.
Warwick Davis was honoured at Sunday’s EE BAFTA Awards with its highest honour, the Fellowship – where he gave a shout out to someone called ‘Sponge’
The actor reduced viewers to tears as he paid tribute in his acceptance speed to his late wife Samantha – who tragically died last year aged 53 (Seen in 2015)
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, viewers said: ‘Who’s sponge?’;
‘Congratulations Warwick Davis What a legend !and what a speech! Hope he and Sponge have a wonderful life together. He dedicated award to his late wife,’;
‘Warwick Davis is some man. What a legend, and what a speech! Hope he and Sponge have a wonderful life together.’
The actor was among the stars honoured at last night’s ceremony held at the Royal Festival Hall – but he received the academy’s top accolade, the BAFTA Fellowship.
He became emotional as he dedicated the award to his beloved wife, as 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.’
Samantha – who was herself an actor – had been married to Warwick for 33 years, welcoming three children together, before her devastating death on March 24.
Taking to the stage to a standing ovation, he began his speech: ‘This is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me… and I’ve been in Star Wars!
The actor was among the stars honoured at last night’s ceremony held at the Royal Festival Hall – but he received the academy’s top accolade, the BAFTA Fellowship
The message left fans speculating the identity of the mystery ‘Sponge’ who has helped the Harry Potter star through a difficult year, and wished the pair happiness
Samantha – who was herself an actor – had been married to Warwick for 33 years, welcoming three children together, before her devastating death on March 24 (Seen at their wedding in 1991)
‘I’m going to keep this short, it’s been a long night… short, yes you can laugh.’
Warwick went on: ‘I’m going to say thank you to my mum, my first agent, she’s the reason I am here tonight.’
He then thanked all his team who supported him throughout his career and shared the award with them, before amending: ‘Sod that. I’ve done all the work, it’s for me! This is all mine.’
Their daughter Annabelle, 27, and son Harrison, 21, 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.’
Star Wars actor Warwick paid an emotional tribute to Samantha, who he described as his ‘favourite human’ following her death.
‘Her passing has left a huge hole in our lives as a family,’ the 54-year-old said in a statement. ‘I miss her hugs.’
He described Sammy, as he called her, as his ‘most trusted confidant and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career’.
Star Wars actor Warwick paid an emotional tribute to Samantha, who he described as his ‘favourite human’ following her death
Warwick added: ‘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.’
The couple’s children, Harrison and Annabelle, said ‘her love and happiness carried us through our whole lives’. ‘Mum is our best friend and we’re honoured to have received a love like hers,’ they added.
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.
Warwick said his wife’s mobility had become impaired in recent years but shared how she was determined not to let it bring her down.
He had kept vigil at his wife Samantha’s hospital bedside as she fought for her life against sepsis five years before her death aged 53.
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.
Their family had been gearing up for a caravan holiday in 2019 when Samantha suddenly fell ill with a mystery condition, something she put down to stress.
However, within days she was at death’s door with doctors telling her terrified husband that she had sepsis, a rare condition which sees the body’s immune system attack its own organs and tissues.
In 2022 Warwick opened up about Samantha’s health issues as he revealed she initially had a sensation of itchiness and exhaustion, but concern grew when she was unable to stand up.
Warwick called an out of hours doctor who told them to immediately go to their nearest A&E as they were worried she might have sepsis.
On arrival doctors examined Samantha and quickly became concerned about a scar on her back from a recent spinal surgery that was ‘inflamed with fluid, red, and hot to touch’.
Tests came back showing she had a deadly Streptococcus bacteria and meningitis infection, meaning she needed emergency surgery.
He told The Sun: ‘The next few hours were the longest of my life as I waited on the ward with our children in the empty space left by Sam’s hospital bed. I hoped it would not symbolise a future for us without her.’
The ordeal left Samantha in intensive care with doctors flooding her body with antibiotics in a bid to save her life.
The infection had ‘ravaged every cell in her body’, leaving Samantha extremely weak and her family worried about whether she would pull through.
Warwick continued: ‘Our family gathered by her bedside; although optimistic, we were sort of saying goodbye in case Sam didn’t survive.’
‘It’s so hard to see someone you love more than anything in the world fighting to stay alive without the strength to even roll over in bed.’
Samantha was able to battle through the disease, although it took three months – and the constant companionship of her husband – to nurse her back to full health.
Samantha was diagnosed with achondroplasia, a bone growth disorder that causes dwarfism, as a child (Seen with Warwick)
However, while Samantha physically recovered, the illness left its mark on both her and Warwick.
‘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.
‘We never take life for granted now, living each day as if it were our last. I appreciate and cherish every moment that Sam and I spend together.’
It was revealed last month that Warwick is suing a London hospital alleging medical negligence following Samantha’s death.
The inquest, which was adjourned to a future date ‘as quickly as possible’, is expected to hear whether the treatment Samantha received at University College London Hospital for a spinal condition contributed to her death.
Samantha met her husband of 33 years when she had an uncredited role in his 1988 film Willow.
The couple had been through struggles before, including losing two children.
After her death, Warwick said he felt like he could achieve anything with his wife by his side and that it felt like he had a ‘superpower’.
