The British television series Dragons' Den first premiered in the United Kingdom in 2005.
The BBC launched the programme as a British version of an established international business-pitch format. Entrepreneurs enter a studio and present their companies to potential investors, who can offer their own money in exchange for equity. The format combines business negotiation with a competitive television structure.
The first British series established the central features that viewers still associate with the show: entrepreneurs must make a short pitch, answer detailed questions, and negotiate directly with the investors, known as dragons. The programme quickly became a prominent BBC business series.
The launch year is sometimes confused with the year of the format's Japanese predecessor or with later cast changes. Those are separate milestones: 2005 refers specifically to the first British broadcast, not the origin of the wider international franchise.