Deborah Meaden joined the British Dragons' Den panel in series 3, replacing Rachel Elnaugh. Meaden is an English businesswoman and investor who became one of the programme's most recognisable Dragons.
Rachel Elnaugh was part of the original panel when the BBC series launched in 2005. After Elnaugh left, Meaden entered the panel during the third series, adding her experience in leisure, retail and business investment to the programme's negotiations.
The timing is important because several women have served as Dragons at different points. Kelly Hoppen, Sara Davies and Jenny Campbell are also associated with the programme, but they joined in later periods and are not the answer to this specific replacement question.
Meaden's role follows the standard Dragons' Den process. She evaluates the entrepreneur's proposal, considers the requested valuation and may offer money for an agreed equity share. Her arrival helped establish a long-running investor presence after the original line-up began to change.