Five investors formed the original Dragons' Den panel when the British series began.
The first panel consisted of Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Rachel Elnaugh, Theo Paphitis and Doug Richard. Together, they established the programme's recognisable format: entrepreneurs entered the room, presented their businesses and requested investment in exchange for an equity share.
The term “Dragon” refers to the investors' financial power and intimidating reputation rather than to a fictional character. Later series changed the panel, with new investors joining and earlier Dragons departing, but the five-person original lineup remains an important part of the show's history.
Viewers sometimes count guest investors or later replacements when recalling the opening panel. The answer refers specifically to the regular investors who made up the first British lineup, not every person who has appeared in the programme across its full run.