Spice Cottage manager speaks out after Emsworth woman claimed to see her dead husband in a promo video

Lucy Watson, from Emsworth, had been scrolling through Facebook when she stumbled on a video from Spice Cottage in Westbourne showing off their packed and newly refurbished restaurant.

Seconds into the video Lucy believed she spotted her husband, who has been dead for nine years. She commented: “How old is the footage? My late husband and his son are on the first shot and he died in 2014?”

To which the restaurant responded: “Hi Lucy Watson, sorry to hear this. This footage was recorded last week.”

The post has since gone viral with media outlets from as far as Australia picking up the story.

Spice Cottage mystery: Emsworth woman speaks out after dead husband appears in Indian restaurant promo video

But a new statement from Bodrul Islam, one the the restaurant’s managers, has brought the case to a close.

In a statement yesterday (Wednesday, January 26): “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.”

This week Lucy told this newspaper that she was ‘99 per cent sure’ the man in the video was her husband and his son. The son has also come forward and refuted the claims, telling the MailOnline: "It's not him and it's not me. When I opened up my laptop it's completely obvious. Anyone who knew my dad would know that straight away,” adding: “The guy in the video looks like he's bald for starters. He's got hair on the side but he's bald on top. The guy who is opposite him is older than me.”

The tale proved to be fertile ground for conspiracy theorists with some suggesting the whole thing was a morbid marketing ploy.

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