Dragon's Den first aired in 2005 on BBC Two.
The British programme is based on the Japanese format Money Tigers, which was created by Nippon TV. Entrepreneurs present business ideas to a panel of wealthy investors, known as the Dragons, and seek investment in exchange for equity.
The first series established the format that remains familiar: contestants enter the Den, make a presentation, answer questions about their business, and negotiate with investors. The programme later moved between BBC Two and BBC One, gaining a much larger audience and becoming one of the best-known British factual entertainment shows.
Dragon's Den is sometimes confused with the similarly formatted BBC programme The Apprentice, but the two shows have different purposes. The Apprentice centres on employment and business tasks, whereas Dragon's Den centres on entrepreneurs seeking finance for their own companies.