Five Dragons sat on the original investor panel of the British show Dragon's Den.
The launch panel consisted of Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Theo Paphitis, Rachel Elnaugh and Simon Woodroffe. Together they established the programme's familiar arrangement: several investors assess a pitch independently, question the entrepreneur, and may compete to make a deal.
The number of Dragons has not been permanently fixed across the programme's history. Later series have featured different combinations and, at times, a changing number of regular or guest investors. That makes the answer specifically about the original panel rather than every series of the programme.
The five investors also represented varied business backgrounds. Their different experiences helped create contrasting questioning styles, from scrutiny of manufacturing and retail costs to challenges about branding, sales and valuation. This mixture became an important part of the show's appeal.