The first UK episode of Dragon's Den was broadcast in 2005.
The British version premiered on BBC Two on 4 January 2005. It adapted the format in which entrepreneurs present businesses to wealthy investors, known as dragons, and seek money in exchange for a share of ownership.
Dragon's Den was not the first programme to use this idea. The format developed from the Japanese television programme Money Tigers and was later adapted in several countries, including the United States as Shark Tank. The British title uses the plural possessive “Dragons'” to describe the investors' den.
The launch series established the show's familiar structure: a presentation, questioning about sales and valuation, and negotiations that may end with an offer or no deal. A televised agreement is also not necessarily final, because the parties still conduct due diligence after filming. The programme has since become one of the BBC's best-known factual entertainment formats.