Which Dragon was the first woman to join the original British Dragons' Den panel?

Rachel Elnaugh was the first woman to join the original British Dragons' Den panel.

Elnaugh became one of the original Dragons when the British programme launched in 2005. She was known as an entrepreneur and businesswoman, particularly through her involvement with the gift and retail company Red Letter Days.

Her place on the first panel is sometimes overlooked because Deborah Meaden later became the longest-running female Dragon associated with the programme. Elnaugh's tenure was comparatively brief, but her early participation makes her the correct answer when the question concerns the original panel rather than later female investors.