When did the BBC television programme Dragons' Den first premiere in the United Kingdom?
Answer
4 January 2005
The BBC television programme Dragons' Den first premiered in the United Kingdom on 4 January 2005.
The series began on BBC Two as the British adaptation of a Japanese business-investment format. Entrepreneurs enter the studio to pitch companies or products to a panel of wealthy investors, known as Dragons, and seek finance in exchange for an ownership stake.
The programme quickly became a prominent part of British factual television. Its title uses the plural possessive “Dragons'” because several investors share the den, although the topic is sometimes casually written as “Dragon's Den.”
The original British panel included Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Rachel Elnaugh, Theo Paphitis and Simon Woodroffe. The panel has changed substantially over the years, but the central pitch-and-negotiation structure has remained consistent.