Which Dragon was the first woman to join the UK television show Dragon's Den?

Rachel Elnaugh was the first woman to join the UK television show Dragon's Den.

Elnaugh became part of the original investor group when the British series began in 2005. Her place on the panel made her the programme's first female Dragon, before later female investors including Deborah Meaden and Hilary Devey joined the series.

Her business background came from Red Letter Days, the experience-gift company she co-founded. That experience gave her direct knowledge of consumer marketing, voucher products and the practical pressures faced by a growing retail brand.

The fact is sometimes confused with Deborah Meaden's much longer tenure or with later Dragons who became especially prominent to viewers. Elnaugh's time on the panel was comparatively short, but her position in the programme's launch history makes her significant even though later female Dragons became more familiar to many audiences.