Man at centre of Indian restaurant storm tracked down and is ‘alive and well’

'There’s never a dhall moment in our restaurant', the owners said

An Indian restaurant at the centre of a social media storm that saw a widow claim her dead husband was featured in a promotional video has said the real customer has been tracked down. Spice Cottage went viral when the owners posted a video of diners enjoying their meals in a bid to showcase the eatery's recent refurbishment. But the clip became an Internet sensation when Lucy Watson, 59, claimed she saw her husband Harry Doherty in the footage posted on January 13 - despite him passing away in 2014. The 'mystery' enthralled readers from around the world after the bemused restaurant in Westbourne, West Sussex, was inundated with messages. Now the owners claim to have tracked down the diner in question - and revealed he is very much alive. In an image posted on Facebook, Alan Harding, a retired IT manager, came forward to say the mystery customer was him and he was seen pictured with restaurant boss, Rofiqul Islam. The furore began when the promo video posted by Spice Cottage caught the attention of Watson, from nearby Emsworth, who said she was "99 per cent sure" the video showed her husband, who had been dead for nine years. Restaurant staff insisted the video was only filmed "last week", but Lucy remained unconvinced and continued to insist the clip showed Doherty. Now in a shocking turn of events, the man she believed to be her late husband, has emerged on the restaurant’s social media page in a pun-laden post that could put the puzzle to bed once and for all. Bodrul Islam and Rofiqul Islam, managers of Spice Cottage, said in the post: "Aloo Everyone! We have a ghee mattar we would like to close. "The photo below is our customer that was captured in one of our recent promo video. We can confirm he is not Lucy’s husband. "As much as we wish our curries bring people out of kormas, unfortunately this was not the case. "Our video has spread through all corners of the world, and it has been a pleasure meeting the customers who have cumin this week! "If you are ever in the village of Westbourne, please pop in, there’s never a dhall moment in our restaurant." The video has been watched more than 20,000 times and left viewers desperate for answers. Speaking last Tuesday (Jan 24), Watson, said: "I’m 99 per cent sure it is him in the video. The minute I looked at the video it was right at the beginning. My gut reaction was 'oh, that’s Harry'. I’ve never seen that many people in there." Lucy said her husband would have last been in the restaurant about ten years ago. Asked if she was upset at the suggestion the video had only been filmed last week, she said: "No,  I was bemused by it. I was ridiculous - I just don’t understand it." Hundreds of Facebook users rushed to the comment section of the post with many creating their own theories as to how Lucy’s late husband appeared in the video. Under the video when it was first posted as part of a New Year promo, Watson asked: "How old is the footage? My late husband and his son are on the first shot and he died in 2014?" The restaurant replied: "Hi Lucy Watson, sorry to hear this. This footage was recorded last week." Many suggested his appearance was all a part of a morbid PR stunt, or even that he had faked his own death. The footage appears to be made up of two separate occasions. In a statement two day later on January 26, Bodrul Islam, one the restaurant’s managers, 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. "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. Many thanks, Bodrul Islam." Related links:

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