Dragons' Den is set to return for its 19th series. The long-running series has stuck to the same format since the beginning and has made household names for while launching hundreds of businesses, making millionaires along the way.
It has had an ever changing roll call of investors - Peter Jones is the only dragon still in the show from the original line up.
The series is set to welcome its youngest dragon for the new series.
When does it start
Dragons’ Den returns to BBC One in the New Year with series 19 starting on Thursday, January 6 at 8pm.
Who's in it this series?
The new line up was released earlier this year and includes a brand new dragon - the youngest ever to appear in the series. These are the investors for series 19 -
Peter Jones
Peter Jones CBE owns a portfolio of businesses ranging from telecoms to publishing.
A Dragon since the very first series Peter’s business career started out at a young age when he set up his own tennis coaching school. He has been through some difficult financial times in the past but he is now one of Britain's best-known entrepreneurs. One of his greatest investments in the Den was with Levi Roots in series four along with fellow Dragon Richard Farleigh.
They invested £50,000 for 40% equity in his Reggae Reggae sauce company.
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Levi has gone on to become one of the biggest successes of the show - now with a net worth estimated to be in excess of £30million.
Peter was made a CBE for services to business, enterprise and young people in 2009. In 2013 he filmed 'Peter Jones Meets…' for the BBC, in which he meets with some of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs.
Also in 2013, Peter demonstrated his personal commitment to the resurgence of the British High Street, when he relaunched 36 Jessops stores across the country.
Total invested in the Den: £5,983,167. Investments include:
• Levi Roots Reggae Reggae Sauce (S4, Caribbean Sauce)
• Love da Popcorn (S9, less sugar, more taste popcorn brand)
• Rempods (S11 joint investment with Deborah, reminiscence pods for Dementia patients)
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• Bare Naked Foods (S11, Low Carb noodles)
Deborah Meaden
Deborah Meaden launched her first business straight out of college, before setting up one of the first ‘Stefanel’ fashion franchises in the 海角视频.
A Dragon since Series 3, Deborah's business sense emerged at age 19 when she launched a glass and ceramics import company, supplying stores including Harvey Nichols. She later took on a franchise for Italian clothing company Stefanel and a prize bingo concession at Butlin's.
She later joined her family business - Weststar Holidays, and eventually became Managing Director. In 1999 she acquired the major shareholding in a management buyout, later selling the company for £33m whilst retaining a 23% stake. She sold her remaining stake in 2007 when Weststar sold for £83m.
Deborah is now a full time investor with a wide ranging portfolio including Gripit innovative plasterboard fixings, luxury 'Made in Britain' site The Merchant Fox, woollen cloth manufacturers Fox Brothers, ‘no nasties’ children’s toiletries brand Good Bubble, women’s fashion label Hope and Ivy, and Billy and Margot nutritious dog food and treats.
Deborah appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2014. She lives in Somerset with her husband, two cats, three dogs, six horses, three pigs, five sheep, ten chickens, six ducks and three geese.
Total invested in the Den: £4,786,000. Investments include:
Yee Kwan Ice Cream (series 12, premium East Asian inspired ice cream)
Rempods (series 7 joint investment with Peter Jones, reminiscence pods for people living in care)
Dock and Bay (series 15, quick drying beach and travel towel)
Marxman (series 14, non permanent DIY marking tool)
Boot Buddy (series 14 joint investment with Peter Jones and Touker Suleyman, footwear cleaning accessory).
Touker Suleyman
Owner of fashion brands Hawes & Curtis, Ghost and Low Profile Holdings.
Touker Suleyman has 40 years' retail and manufacturing experience and is best known as the founder of quintessentially British menswear brand, Hawes & Curtis and the man credited with reinventing the seminal 90s womenswear label, Ghost.
After a false start in accountancy, Touker kicked off his retail career at the age of 18. He entered into a joint venture in a leather factory and soon after established a clothing manufacturer supplying to some of the biggest names of the British high street.
Touker’s rise in the business world has not been without its challenge. In the 1980s auditors identified significant debt behind one of his business ventures and he had six weeks to find £2 million pounds. Unfortunately a potential investor pulling out at the last minute, forcing the business into liquidation, and he was forced to start again from nothing.
Touker went on to build a thriving international clothing manufacturer which still sits at the heart of his businesses and is now a serial entrepreneur, backing seven retail and commercial property businesses. Touker has a keen interest in supporting start-ups and invests in a number of small British companies.
Total invested in the Den: £1,877,666. Investments include:
. Beamblock Yogo (S13 joint investment with Peter, yogo workout equipment)
. Timberkits (S13, hand crafted wooden toys)
. Bad Brownie (S13, luxury brownie company)
. Collagin (S16, collagen infused gin)
Sara Davies
Self-made businesswoman Sara Davies MBE has found a new fanbase after appearing on the 2021 series of Strictly Come Dancing with dance partner Aljaž Škorjanec.
The Den’s youngest ever Dragon, Sara Davies hails from County Durham and joined the Den in 2019 when she was just 35 - she has charted her road to success in a new autobiography.
She founded Crafter's Companion, a retail business specialising in crafting, 13 years ago from her bedroom at university. Spotting a gap in the market for an envelope-making tool for card makers, Sara invented one! With the help of her engineer Dad she got a local joiner to make them in MDF, and crafters bought them in their thousands, catapulting her business to success.
Sara’s company now turns over £34 million a year and employs more than 200 staff in 海角视频, the US and across Europe. She is the recipient of over 25 business awards and in 2016 was recognised for services to the economy with an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
Total invested in the Den: £1,118,666
Including:
Mak Tok - Malaysian Chilli Paste.
Pipe Easy – a tool for cutting round pipes.
Shower Gem – A storage solution for bathrooms.
Steven Bartlett
The 29-year-old entrepreneur, podcast host and Sunday Times best-selling author will be the youngest ever Dragon when he joins the line-up for series 19. Bartlett is founder and former CEO of social media marketing agency The Social Chain which he set up from a bedroom in Manchester. He dropped out of university and built the group’s two flagship companies, Social Chain and Media Chain, when he was just 22 years old before taking his company public at 27.
The businessman revealed recently how he makes $1.2m a year from his popular Diary of a CEO podcast - and he has taken the stage version on the road launching in Manchester earlier this year.
Read our review of the show here.