Deborah Meaden joined the Dragons' Den panel in 2006.
Meaden is an English businesswoman and investor who became one of the programme’s longest-serving and most recognisable Dragons. She joined after the show’s first series and remained a regular panel member for many years. Her investment interests have included consumer products, leisure, retail and hospitality businesses.
Her arrival is sometimes dated incorrectly because the British programme began in 2005. The first series featured the original panel, including Rachel Elnaugh, while Meaden joined for the following period. That difference makes 2006 the key year for her debut rather than the launch year of the show itself.
Meaden is also frequently confused with Deborah Meaden’s later appearances as a guest investor or with other female Dragons who joined in subsequent years. The question asks specifically about her first joining the British panel, not the date of an individual investment or a guest appearance.