On which date did the UK television show Dragons' Den first premiere?

The UK television show Dragons' Den first premiered on 4 January 2005.

The BBC launched the programme as a British adaptation of an international business-investment format. Entrepreneurs enter a studio and pitch their companies to experienced investors, known as dragons, seeking money in exchange for a share of ownership. The first series established the basic structure that later became familiar to viewers: a founder presents a business, answers detailed questions, and negotiates under pressure.

The programme quickly became a long-running fixture in British factual entertainment. Its title refers to the intimidating atmosphere of the pitch room rather than to a fictional story involving literal dragons. The format also helped popularise the language of equity, valuation and investment among general television audiences.

The UK series is sometimes confused with the similarly formatted US programme Shark Tank. Both ultimately belong to the same international format family, but Dragons' Den is the British version and began broadcasting in 2005.