The Spice was right: Son of widow's husband 'seen in curry house's promo video nine years after death' says it's not him
25 January 2023, 14:45 | Updated: 25 January 2023, 14:52
A widow who believes she saw her late husband in a newly filmed curry house promo video is wrong, her stepson says.
Lucy Watson claims to have spotted her late husband in the clip for Spice Cottage and has said she's in "no doubt" the man in the video is her husband Harry Doherty, who passed away in 2014.
She believes she can see him eating with his son, Alex, in the Facebook video and commented on it to say the footage must have been old if he was in it.
However, it sparked jokes and conspiracy theories as social media users speculated over whether he had disappeared, only to resurface at the restaurant, and drew parallels to the "Canoe Man" saga.
But now Alex has come forward to say he is not in the clip, and neither is her late husband.
"No-way. It's not my dad and it's not me. She's got it wrong," he told MailOnline.
"You can see from the comments [on Facebook] that people are really intrigued about it. They really want to know the answers. The answer is that it's not my dad - that's it."
She had commented on Spice Cottage's Facebook page to say: "How old is the footage? My late husband and his son are on the first shot and he died in 2014??"
The restaurant, in Westbourne, West Sussex, has acknowledged Ms Watson's comments, but insists the footage of diners tucking into their meals was shot in the week commencing January 9 - days after the restaurant was refurbished.
Spice Cottage's manager Bodrul Islam hit back and said: "I am writing on behalf of Spice Cottage as one of the managers.
"In regards to the incident regarding the Lucy Watson comment and her interview, we would like to clarify some misunderstandings.
"I run the social media side of the business and recorded a promotional video to portray our new wooden tables and interior refurbishment."
Woman claims to see her dead husband of nine years in Sussex restaurant promo video
He continued: "The refurbishment was completed in early January 2023 and the promotional video highlights these changes. All videos used in the video were recorded w/c 9th January 2023.
"Before January 2023, all of our tables were covered by white and red cloths, henceforth it is evident this footage is recent."
He added: "This is a very unusual situation and we hope this clarifies any confusion."
Ms Watson said she noticed that one of the customers bore marked resemblance to her late husband - despite the fact he died nine years ago.
New year, new mood! ✨ For the last few weeks, we’ve been working hard to make our dining experience even more...
Posted by Spice Cottage on Monday, January 16, 2023
The mystery became even more engrossing when Spice Cottage replied before Mr Islam's statement to say: "Hi Lucy, sorry to hear this. This footage was recorded last week."
But Ms Watson said: "The moment I saw the thing I thought "Oh my God – that's Harry."
"It was so instant. I didn't even have to think. He'd be eating a chicken korma because that's all he ever ate."
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Ms Watson dismissed "ridiculous conspiracy theories", adding that the comment made by the restaurant was obviously to defend the use of old footage in a bid "to generate customers".
"I just thought 'That's an old video'. I posted asking how old the footage was," added Ms Watson.
"I was only asking out of interest – then it all went crazy.
"It annoyed me when they sent a message back saying it was filmed last week. It can't have been."
