Rachel Elnaugh became the first female Dragon when she joined the UK series Dragon's Den.
Elnaugh was an entrepreneur associated with Red Letter Days, a gift-experience company she co-founded with her brother Simon. Her appearance on the original panel gave the programme its first woman investor and broadened the range of business experience represented in the den.
The fact is often confused with Deborah Meaden because Meaden became one of the show's most prominent and longest-serving female Dragons. Meaden joined later, in the second series, so she was not the first woman on the panel. Hilary Devey and Sara Davies arrived later still.
Elnaugh’s tenure was brief compared with some later Dragons, but her historical role is clear. She was part of the programme’s original investor lineup and set the precedent for the female entrepreneurs who followed.