Rachel Elnaugh became the first female Dragon when she joined the British Dragon's Den panel for its launch in 2005.
Elnaugh was one of the five original investors in the BBC programme, appearing with Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Doug Richard and Simon Woodroffe. Her appointment gave the first series a female investor from the outset, before later Dragons such as Deborah Meaden and Hilary Devey joined the panel.
Before television, Elnaugh founded Red Letter Days, a company selling experience gifts such as driving, flying and leisure activities. The business became a prominent example of experience-based retail in the United Kingdom and helped establish her reputation as an entrepreneur.
Elnaugh left Dragon's Den after the second series. That departure is sometimes confused with Deborah Meaden's arrival: Meaden joined the panel in the third series, making her the better-known long-term female Dragon, but she was not the first.