Which Dragon replaced Rachel Elnaugh on the panel of Dragons' Den for its third series?

Deborah Meaden replaced Rachel Elnaugh on the Dragons' Den panel for the programme's third series.

Meaden is an English businesswoman and television personality who became one of the show's most recognisable investors. Before joining Dragons' Den, she had built experience in family businesses and in the leisure and holiday-park sector. Her direct questioning and emphasis on practical commercial details became characteristic of her appearances.

Rachel Elnaugh was one of the original investors when the British version began. After Elnaugh left, Meaden joined the panel during the third series, expanding the group of investors seen by viewers. Meaden subsequently became a long-running Dragon and appeared across many later series.

This fact is distinct from the question of who was the first woman to appear on the original panel. Elnaugh already held that distinction as an original investor; Meaden was the later replacement who became a continuing central figure in the programme.