When did the first series of BBC television show Dragon's Den premiere?

The first series of the BBC television show Dragon's Den premiered on 4 January 2005.

The British programme adapted an international format in which entrepreneurs present business proposals to wealthy investors. Contestants usually explain their product, request an investment, and offer a percentage of their company in return. The investors then question the entrepreneur about sales, costs, valuation, and future plans.

Dragon's Den became a long-running BBC programme and helped make business-investment terminology familiar to a broad audience. Its title uses the British spelling “Dragons,” while several international versions use “Shark Tank” or another local title. The programme’s first series established the studio-pitch structure later associated with the show.

The launch date is sometimes confused with the dates of later series or with the Japanese programme that inspired the format. Dragon's Den was already on British television in 2005, before many of its later Dragons became household names.