She’s the woman who has helped Harry Potter star Warwick Davis to ‘laugh and love again’ after the tragic death of his wife.
Affectionately referred to as ‘Sponge’ by him, she has been at the actor’s side at two recent high-profile events.
Davis, 56, paid tribute to his companion at last year’s Bafta ceremony, where they were photographed together, and she was also pictured by his side as he proudly received his OBE.
Now the Daily Mail can put a name to those pictures, as the woman alongside Davis is mother-of-two qualified hypnotherapist Philippa Morris.
Until recently, Philippa, 40, devoted much of her time to helping people overcome the challenges of modern life and make them ‘feel happy again’.
In 2023 she set up a clinic in a seaside resort in the West Country, where she offered clients personalised ‘rapid remedy therapy’ sessions.
The woman alongside Davis is mother-of-two qualified hypnotherapist Philippa Morris, to whom Davis paid tribute at last year’s Bafta ceremony
It is understood the couple have now set up home together in the village in a detached three-storey house.
The couple are regularly seen out and about in the area, where Davis drives around in his Star Wars-themed sports car – a nod to his playing over a dozen different roles for the iconic franchise since 1983.
A village resident told the Daily Mail: ‘They spend a lot of time going out for lunches. It’s all very relaxed. Everybody recognises Warwick and people go up to say hello but nobody bothers them.
‘You see them out and about together and Warwick on his own. It’s not unusual to see him shopping at the supermarket.
‘They have been a couple for some time and they seem very comfortable together.’
Davis has found happiness again following the tragic death of his wife of over 30 years Samantha, who had a cardiac arrest during a spinal operation at a London hospital in March 2024.
Philippa was at Davis’ side earlier this month sharing one of the proudest moments of his life when he was awarded an OBE by Prince William at Windsor Castle.
Wearing a long black dress and matching fascinator, the VIP guest was photographed with a huge smile on her face as she stood alongside Davis’ daughter Annabelle, 29, and son Harrison, 23, at the investiture ceremony.
The touching moment was captured as the Prince of Wales bent down to present Davis with the honour for services to acting and his work supporting people with dwarfism – after he co-founded the charity Little People UK (LPUK) with his late wife.
Philippa also attended the Bafta Film Awards with Davis at the Royal Festival Hall last month and a Madness concert with him in Cornwall last July.
‘While the couple couldn’t be happier together, she doesn’t court the limelight and is happy to remain in the background.’
Phillipa was quick to offer her congratulations when Davis announced he had been signed to reprise his role as Hogwarts charms teacher Professor Filius Flitwick in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series.
Until recently, Philippa, a qualified hypnotherapist, devoted much of her time to helping people overcome the challenges of modern life and make them ‘feel happy again’
Philippa was photographed with a huge smile on her face as she stood alongside Davis’ daughter Annabelle, 29, and son Harrison, 23, as her partner recieved his OBE
After revealing his return on Instagram, Philippa reposted the message on her social media.
She accompanied the posting, which ended in a love heart emoji, with a message saying: ‘Awesome news!! Woop Woop!’
It is not clear how the couple met but Philippa also suffered personal tragedy after her husband and the father of her children died when he was in his forties.
The couple had lived in in Essex, and during that time Phillipa worked in sales at upmarket car showrooms selling Mercedes and BMWs.
After moving to the West Country, Philippa turned her attention to helping people tackle mental health issues and overcome trauma.
Through counselling, neuro-linguistic programming therapy, hypnotherapy and energy psychology, Philippa promised to help tackle a range of conditions including depression, anxiety, addiction, phobias and PTSD.
The business’s social media page states: ‘Are you ready to feel happy again?
‘With a proven track record of rapid and permanent fixes for all obstacles in life, we personalise our therapy sessions using old and new techniques for fast and permanent results.’
It adds: ‘As the world and humanity has progressively moved forward, we now experience more challenges and more emotions on a day to day basis.
‘This not only has a detrimental effect on our mind and body but also the people around us and our perception of how we experience life.’
Pledging to help tackle ‘an epidemic of mental health disorders’, it continues: ‘With the modern pressures of life increasing, we need an updated modern remedy to not only help with the situation but actually cure it once and for all.
‘Our core aim is not only to help improve your life in every way but actually get to the root of the problem and eliminate it altogether allowing you to start enjoying and experiencing life again to the full permanently and as quickly as possible.’
The business offered evening and weekend appointments as well as home visits at a cost of £50 for a one-hour session.
Davis first revealed he had found new love at last year’s Bafta ceremony when he was given a special award recognising his ‘outstanding and exceptional’ contribution to the screen.
After receiving his Bafta Fellowship, an emotional Davis dedicated the award to Samantha, who he referred to as Sammy.
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.’
After thanking his children, who were in the audience, for helping him get through the toughest year of his life, he added: ‘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 speech prompted an outpouring of support from fans on social media, with one writing: ‘Warwick Davis is some man. What a legend, and what a speech! Hope he and Sponge have a wonderful life together.’
Quizzed by Jonathan Ross on his TV talk show the following month about his new love, Davis jokingly made reference to Harry Potter antagonist Lord Voldemort’s moniker as ‘He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named’.
He said: ‘I can reveal, sticking with the Harry Potter theme, Sponge is indeed She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.’
But he went on to teasingly add that the new woman in his life reminded him of the character Kerry Mucklowe, played by Daisy May Cooper, in the BBC’s mockumentary sitcom series This Country.
Referring to the comedy, which follows the lives of two cousins in a small village in the West Country, he said: ‘Sponge very much reminds me of Kerry. Some of the things she says and her accent.’
Davis’ beloved wife Samantha died aged just 53 at University College Hospital in London on March 24 2024. Pictured together in 2015
Davis, who is 3ft 6in tall, is credited with being one of the highest-earning supporting actors of all time.
In a career spanning 40 years, he has also hosted ITV game shows Celebrity Squares and Tenable as well as starring in the comedy series An Idiot Abroad alongside Karl Pilkington.
The actor, who was born with a rare form of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, first found love after meeting Sammy on the set of Willow, the 1988 fantasy film in which they both starred alongside Val Kilmer.
They married three years later and Sammy went on to appear alongside her husband again in 2010 in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
As a child, Samantha was diagnosed with achondroplasia, a bone growth disorder that causes dwarfism.
An inquest into her death concluded that she died as a result of a cardiac arrest following complications from surgery.
Samantha had previously fallen gravely ill in 2019 as the family were preparing for a caravan holiday.
Davis stayed by her bedside as she fought for her life in intensive care.
It emerged she had been struck down with sepsis following operations on her spine at University College London Hospital.
After Samantha’s death, Davis said in an emotional tribute: ‘Her passing has left a huge hole in our lives as a family. I miss her hugs.’
He described Samantha as his ‘most trusted confidant and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career’ adding: ‘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.’
Davis added that while Samantha’s mobility had been impaired in the years leading up to her death, she was ‘determined that it would not impact her quality of life’.
Harrison and Annabelle – who both have dwarfism and have also worked as actors – added that their mother’s ‘love and happiness carried us through’.
