Which British Dragons' Den investor joined the programme in its third series?

Deborah Meaden joined the British programme Dragons' Den in its third series.

Meaden is an English businesswoman and investor who became one of the show's best-known Dragons. Her background includes work in the leisure and holiday-park industry, experience that informed her direct questioning about customers, operations, margins and scalability.

She joined after the programme had already established its original panel, so her arrival belongs to the show's early expansion rather than its launch series. This timeline is useful because the line-up has changed repeatedly over the years, with newer investors replacing earlier ones.

Meaden's television role is an investor role, not the presenting job. Entrepreneurs who receive an offer from her may still need to complete due diligence before a deal is finalised. The on-screen handshake therefore represents proposed investment terms, rather than an automatic completed transaction.