Which Dragon became the first woman to join the regular Dragon's Den investment panel?

Rachel Elnaugh became the first woman to join the regular Dragon's Den investment panel.

Elnaugh was an entrepreneur and businesswoman who founded the gift company Red Letter Days. She joined the original British panel when Dragon's Den began in 2005, making her the show's first female regular investor.

Her business background was especially relevant to the programme because Red Letter Days sold experience-based gifts, a category that later became widely associated with online retail and voucher businesses. Elnaugh left the panel after the first series, but her place in the programme's early history remained significant.

Deborah Meaden later became one of the show's best-known female dragons, but she was not the first. Sara Davies and Kelly Hoppen also joined in later years. The distinction concerns the regular British panel, not guest appearances or dragons from international versions.