The BBC television programme Dragon's Den first premiered in the United Kingdom on 4 January 2005.
The programme was commissioned as a British adaptation of an international business-pitch format. Entrepreneurs present their companies or product ideas to a panel of wealthy investors, known as the Dragons, and seek investment in exchange for an ownership stake.
The first British series aired on BBC Two. Its original panel consisted of Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Rachel Elnaugh, Theo Paphitis and Doug Richard. The programme later became one of the BBC's best-known factual entertainment formats and moved between BBC Two and BBC One during its run.
The premiere date is sometimes confused with the start of later series, because Dragon's Den has been broadcast continuously across many years and often launches new episodes in different months. The British show is also distinct from the Canadian, Australian and American versions, which use the same broad format but have separate casts and broadcast histories.