Warwick Davis leaves Bafta viewers in tears with tribute to his late wife Samantha

‘Warwick Davis and his kids have me BAWLING,’ said one viewer

Warwick Davis has dedicated his Bafta award to his late wife who was “always supportive” of his career.

The British actor, best known for Willow and the Harry Potter films, was responsible for one of the awards show’s most touching moments.

The 2025 Baftas took place on Sunday evening (16 February) with Hollywood’s brightest stars descending on London’s Royal Festival Hall for the ceremony.

Davis, 55, was awarded the Fellowship prize, known as Bafta’s highest honour. Previous recipients include Maggie Smith, Mike Leigh, Samantha Morton, Martin Scorsese, and Sir Sidney Poitier.

Davis was celebrated by Bafta for his career and role in creating a more inclusive industry.

Accepting the award on stage, he joked: “This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I’ve been in Star Wars.”

Becoming emotional, Davis admitted that “life has been pretty tough” since the death of his wife Samantha last year.

Praising his late wife for “always supporting” his career and encouraging him to go for roles, Davis joked that her desire for him to take a job corresponded to how much she wanted to buy a new handbag.

Warwick Davis with his late wife Samantha, and daughter Annabelle (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Archive)

“Thank you to the support of our wonderful children, I’ve been able to keep engaging in life,” he said, breaking down in tears.

His children, Harrison and Annabelle, were seen in the crowd, with his daughter crying.

Tom Felton, who starred opposite Davis in Harry Potter as Draco Malfoy, presented the award, giving a heart-felt speech about the impact the actor had on his life – revealing that he had been the one to teach his first spell at Hogwarts.

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“How talented, how hardworking, how loved this man is,” said Felton.

In a video montage, George Lucas and Mark Hammil were among the stars to commend the actor on his award.

Viewers at home were left wiping away tears at the emotional moment, with one person writing: “I had no plans to cry today and yet here I am.”

Another added: “Love Warwick Davis, good speech.”

“Oh no, Warwick Davis got me crying,” said someone else, with a fourth person agreeing: “Warwick Davis and his kids have me BAWLING.”

Elsewhere during the ceremony, Conclave claimed the Best Film award at the Baftas having also bagged the award for Outstanding British Film, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing.

Other big winners on the night included The Brutalist, which won four awards including Best Actor and Best Director for Adrien Brody and Brady Corbet respectively.

Best Supporting Actress went to Zoe Saldaña for her role in Emilia Pérez, while Kieran Culkin won Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain.

The Independent listed the winners live as they were revealed, hours before the televised broadcast began on BBC One at 7pm. See the full list of winners here.