Rachel Elnaugh was the first woman to appear on Dragon's Den's original panel.
Elnaugh was one of the five investors who formed the original British panel when the programme launched in 2005. Her entrepreneurial background was in retail and gifts, and she was known for founding Red Letter Days, a company selling experience gifts.
Her presence made her one of the programme's earliest female investors, before later panel members including Deborah Meaden, Kelly Hoppen, and Sara Davies joined the series. Those later appointments are why viewers may remember a different woman as the first female dragon.
The wording “original panel” is important: it identifies the launch line-up rather than the first woman ever to appear in any later series. Elnaugh left the panel after the early series, while Dragon's Den continued with changing investor combinations.