Deborah Meaden first appeared as an investor on BBC Dragons' Den in 2006.
Meaden joined the programme during its third series, becoming one of the most recognisable long-term members of the British investor panel. Her business career included work in leisure and hospitality, and she had experience with family businesses before becoming a television investor.
She is particularly associated with direct questioning about sales, margins, valuation and ownership. Her role helped establish the mix of investor personalities that became central to the programme's appeal, alongside Dragons such as Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis.
The date is sometimes confused with 2005, the year the British version first began broadcasting. Meaden did not join in the launch series; her first appearance came the following year, in the third series. The programme's series numbering and calendar years are therefore useful clues when checking this fact.