Emotional Warwick Davis fights back tears as he pays tribute to his late wife Samantha and admits he has found love again while accepting the Fellowship Award at the BAFTAs
Warwick Davis became visibly emotional and brought both tears and laughter from the audience during his heartfelt speech at the BAFTAs on Sunday night.
The actor, 55, was honoured with a BAFTA Fellowship, which recognises those who have made an ‘outstanding and exceptional’ contribution to the screen.
He was presented the award by his former Harry Potter co-star Tom Felton, while the audience were shown a montage of scenes from his famous projects, interspersed with clips from his fellow stars and family, praising his talents.
Taking to the stage to a standing ovation, Warwick began his speech: ‘This is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me… and I’ve been in Star Wars!
‘I’m going to keep this short, it’s been a long night… short, yes you can laugh.’
He 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.’
Warwick then became emotional as he dedicated the award to his beloved wife, Samantha Davis, who tragically died last year.
Samantha, who was herself an actor, died on March 24 last year at the age of 53, and had been married to Warwick for 33 years, welcoming three children together.
Warwick 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.
‘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 wokring and engaging in life.’
He then gave a special shout out to a mystery person he referred to as ‘sponge’ and thanked them for helping him ‘love again’.
Fighting back tears, he 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’.
He concluded his speech by saying: ‘Finally thank you to BAFTA from the bottom of my heart for this incredible honour, I shall treasure it always. See you in the movies!’
and those who have helped him through the difficult period following her loss.
The heartfelt speech caused the audience to become visibly emotional, while viewers at home were also left in tears.
