On the British version of Dragons' Den, Rachel Elnaugh was the first female dragon to leave the regular panel.
Elnaugh was an original investor when the programme launched in Britain. She was known for founding Red Letter Days, a company selling experience gifts, and became one of the show's earliest female business figures.
She left the programme after its second series. Deborah Meaden later became the most enduring female investor associated with the British version, but she was not the first woman to serve as a dragon. This distinction is about departure from the regular panel, not the first woman ever to appear as a guest.
Elnaugh's Red Letter Days business later experienced financial difficulties and was sold to Peter Jones, another Dragons' Den investor. That business history is separate from her original role on the panel.