When was the first episode of the BBC business show Dragon's Den broadcast?
Answer
4 January 2005
The first episode of the BBC business show Dragon's Den was broadcast on 4 January 2005.
The British version adapted a format in which entrepreneurs present businesses to wealthy investors, known as Dragons, and seek investment in exchange for equity. The programme was initially shown on BBC Two and quickly became one of the BBC's best-known factual entertainment series.
The show's British launch followed the Japanese format Money Tigers, which had already established the central idea of entrepreneurs facing a panel of potential investors. The programme is commonly confused with Shark Tank, the later American adaptation of the same broad format, but Dragon's Den is the established British title.
The first series introduced the British audience to the original investor panel and presenter Evan Davis. Subsequent series changed the panel repeatedly while retaining the pitching structure.