A widow who claimed she saw her dead husband in an Indian restaurant's new social media video is wrong, her stepson has claimed today.
Lucy Watson, 59, caused controversy when she commented on the Spice Cottage's page asking how old the video was.
The footage of the restaurant in Westbourne, West Sussex, showed tables packed with diners enjoying their favourite dishes.
Lucy claimed she "instantly" spotted her husband Harry Doherty - an award-winning journalist and popular larger-than-life character - but the restaurant and Harry's son both disagree.
Ms Watson commented on the video posted to the Spice Cottage Facebook page on January 16, alongside the caption: "New year, new mood! For the last few weeks, we've been working hard to make our dining experience even more memorable.
"Join us for a perfect blend of exquisite flavours, with classical and unique dishes inspired by ancient family recipes."
And in the comments, Ms Watson asked: "How old is the footage? My late husband and his son are on the first shot and he died in 2014??"
The owners of the establishment insisted the video had been filmed earlier in the month and wasn't nine years old.
Now Harry's son Alex has come forward to confirm neither of them are in the footage.
The 39-year-old told the MailOnline: "No way. It's not my dad and it's not me. She's got it wrong.
"You can see from the comments 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."
The sighting has been compared to the famous Canoe man John Darwin who faked his own death at sea in a life insurance scam.
After hoards of social media users commented on possible explanations or ridiculous conspiracy theories, Ms Watson dismissed them and said her husband is "instantly recognisable" in the clip.
Ms Watson previously told MailOnline : "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.'
"There was no doubt in my mind it was my husband. I couldn't pause the thing so I had to replay it about 30 times and each time I was surer and surer."
She goes on to say her husband has a distinctive look, with a big build and white hair, while claiming the restaurant must be using old footage.
Ms Watson adds: "'They are never busy like that any more, that's the problem. They have obviously posted this to generate customers because they are really up against it now."
She said her husband died in 2014, of which there is no doubt - and she recalled him being seriously ill in hospital while waiting for a liver transplant, but sadly did not make it.
Father-of-three Mr Doherty was born in Northern Ireland and won awards for his coverage of the Troubles before moving to England where he relaunched his career as a music journalist, working for the now-defunct magazine Melody Maker.
He went on to set up his own rock magazine and become a friend of Queen guitarist Brian May after writing an official book on the band.
But the restaurant is sticking to its guns and added a new statement on Facebook saying it was "a very unusual situation" and that the video clearly shows their new refurbishment.
Bordrul Islam, one of the managers, wrote: "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.
"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.
This is a very unusual situation and we hope this clarifies any confusion."
