Five investors were on the original Dragons' Den panel when the British series launched.
The first British panel consisted of Duncan Bannatyne, Peter Jones, Rachel Elnaugh, Theo Paphitis and Doug Richard. Together they established the programme’s original investor lineup when the BBC version began in 2005.
The panel size matters because the show’s format depends on several investors assessing the same proposal from different commercial perspectives. The Dragons can compete with one another, make joint offers or decline independently, while the entrepreneur weighs both the money and the expertise being offered.
Later series changed the lineup as investors left and new Dragons joined. That means the number of familiar faces in a later episode should not be used to identify the original panel. The answer refers specifically to the launch panel, not to every Dragon who has appeared in the programme’s history.