Late last year, we brought you the incredible news from the other side of the world following the discovery of a giant 7.9kg "potato".

Well, it turns out that 'Doug' the spud, aptly named by New Zealand couple Colin and Donna Craig-Brown, who dug it up from their back garden in Hamilton, is in fact an imposter.

After applying to the Guinness World Records' team about the legitimacy of the object's record size, the Craig-Browns received a disappointing response.

"Dear Colin," the email began, "sadly the specimen is not a potato and is in fact the tuber of a type of gourd. For this reason we do unfortunately have to disqualify the application."

A disheartened Colin said to The Guardian, "What can you say? We can't say we don't believe you, because we gave them the DNA stuff."

However, it looks like Colin doesn't plan to get rid of 'Doug' any time soon.

"I say 'gidday' to him every time I pull out some sausages. He's a cool character," Craig-Brown said. "Whenever the grandchildren come round, they say, 'Can we see Doug?'"

The couple made the most of their giant tuber, putting hats on it and taking it for walks in the sun. Even now, knowing the truth, we're sure they'll take care of it just the same.

Despite what Guinness says, he still holds the record in their heart, "He is the world’s biggest not-a-potato."