Deborah Meaden joined the British Dragons' Den panel in 2006 and became known for her property investments.
Meaden is an English businesswoman and investor whose career included operating businesses in leisure and hospitality before she became a Dragon. She joined the programme after the first series, bringing a background in company management, deal-making and property-related business experience.
Her name is sometimes mixed up with later female investors such as Kelly Hoppen, Jenny Campbell or Sara Davies. Those investors joined at different points and had different professional backgrounds. Meaden is particularly associated with a direct, commercially focused questioning style and with investments made through the programme.
Joining the panel did not mean that every pitch resulted in a completed deal. As with the other Dragons, televised offers could be subject to due diligence, negotiation and changes to the proposed investment terms after filming.