Deborah Meaden joined the BBC programme Dragon's Den in 2006 and is known for the Weststar Holdings group.
Meaden became one of the programme's investors during its third series. She had already built a career in business, including work in the leisure and hospitality sectors, and later became associated with Weststar Holdings, her family investment company.
Her television role involves examining entrepreneurs' business models, financial figures, market opportunity and requested equity. As with every Dragon, an on-screen offer is subject to negotiation and may not necessarily become a completed investment after filming.
Meaden is sometimes confused with later female Dragons such as Kelly Hoppen, Jenny Campbell or Sara Davies. Those investors joined at different points. Meaden's distinctive place in the programme's history is that she entered the regular panel in 2006 and became one of its longest-serving investors.