In the BBC television series Dragon's Den, on what date did the first episode premiere?

The BBC television series Dragon's Den premiered on 4 January 2005.

The British version brought entrepreneurs before a panel of wealthy investors, who became known as the Dragons. Contestants presented business ideas and sought investment in return for a share of their companies. The programme was adapted for the BBC from the international Dragons' Den format.

Its launch placed the show in the BBC Two schedule and established the presentation format later associated with the series: an entrepreneur enters the pitch area, gives a proposal, and answers questions about sales, valuation and ownership. The programme is sometimes confused with the similarly named Canadian, Australian and American versions, which have different premiere dates and investor line-ups.

The first British episode therefore marks the beginning of the UK series, not the origin of the wider format. The format itself began in Japan before being adapted in several countries.