In the first series of BBC's Dragon's Den, which five investors formed the original panel?

The original Dragon's Den panel consisted of Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Rachel Elnaugh, Doug Richard and Simon Woodroffe.

These five investors appeared together in the first UK series, which launched in 2005. They represented different business backgrounds, including technology, retail, property, fashion and entrepreneurship, giving the panel a deliberately varied range of experience.

The panel changed over time as Dragons joined, left or returned to the programme. Theo Paphitis and Deborah Meaden became especially prominent in later series, but neither was part of the original five-person line-up. That changing membership is why lists of famous Dragons can easily be mistaken for the launch panel.

Peter Jones and Duncan Bannatyne became long-running figures in the programme. Rachel Elnaugh, Doug Richard and Simon Woodroffe were also central to establishing the original British version's investor dynamic and helped define its early identity.