Five investors were the original dragons when BBC's Dragon's Den launched in 2005.
The launch-era panel consisted of Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Rachel Elnaugh, Simon Woodroffe and Doug Richard. Together, they established the format familiar to viewers: entrepreneurs enter one at a time, make a funding proposal and answer detailed questions about their businesses.
The panel later changed repeatedly as investors left and new dragons joined. That turnover means that viewers who mainly remember later line-ups can miscount the original group. The five launch dragons were not all from the same commercial background: their experience included retail, hospitality, fashion, technology and entrepreneurship.
The number of investors sitting in the studio can vary by series and episode, especially when guest dragons appear. The answer refers specifically to the permanent launch-era panel associated with the programme's first BBC series, rather than every investor who has appeared across the show's history.