The main investor panel in the British television show Dragon's Den usually has five investors.
These investors are called dragons, and each may question entrepreneurs about their product, sales, costs, valuation and requested investment. The panel's five seats create the show's familiar visual arrangement and allow entrepreneurs to receive competing offers or combinations of offers.
The exact people occupying the seats have changed across series. Some episodes also include guest dragons, and availability can affect the panel, so five describes the standard main-panel format rather than an unbreakable rule for every episode. The dragons are businesspeople or entrepreneurs selected for their experience and investment capacity.
A common mix-up is to count the entrepreneurs or the production team instead of the investors. The number refers only to the regular panel of potential backers facing the pitch area.