Rachel Elnaugh was the first woman to join the regular panel of BBC Two's Dragons' Den.
Elnaugh appeared as one of the original Dragons when the British series launched in 2005. She was known for founding Red Letter Days, a company selling experience gifts such as driving days, flights and other leisure activities. Her business background gave her direct experience of consumer products, branding and company growth.
She was part of the opening panel alongside Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Theo Paphitis and Doug Richard. The programme later featured other prominent female investors, most famously Deborah Meaden, but Meaden joined after the launch rather than being the first woman on the regular panel.
A frequent mix-up arises because Meaden became one of the show's longest-serving and most recognisable Dragons. The question concerns the earliest regular female panellist in the British series, not the longest-serving woman or the investor most associated with the programme.