Rachel Elnaugh became the first female dragon on the British television series Dragon's Den.
Elnaugh was an entrepreneur best known for Red Letter Days, a company selling experience gifts such as driving and leisure packages. She joined the original BBC panel when the programme began in 2005, alongside Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Theo Paphitis and Richard Farleigh.
Her tenure belongs to the show's first two series. She was later replaced on the panel by Deborah Meaden, who became one of the programme's most recognisable long-term investors. This distinction can cause confusion because Meaden is often the first female dragon many viewers remember from the show's established era.
Red Letter Days later encountered financial difficulties and entered administration in 2005. The brand was subsequently acquired by Dragons' Den investor Theo Paphitis. Elnaugh's story therefore connects the show both to its original casting and to one of the businesses discussed in the programme's wider history.