BBC Two originally commissioned and broadcast the British version of Dragons' Den.
The programme first appeared on BBC Two in January 2005. BBC Two has traditionally carried factual, documentary and specialist programming, making it the original home for the business-pitch series. The channel's involvement is distinct from the production company and from later international broadcasters that adapted the format.
The show became a long-running BBC franchise, with entrepreneurs presenting products and companies to a changing panel of investors. Its success also helped make the term “Dragon” widely recognisable in British popular culture as shorthand for one of the show's wealthy businesspeople.
Viewers sometimes associate the programme with other commercial channels because the format has international versions and because British television schedules change over time. The original British broadcaster, however, was BBC Two, and the first UK episodes were shown there.