Which former Dragon's Den investor was known as the show's first female dragon?

Rachel Elnaugh was known as Dragon's Den's first female dragon.

Elnaugh joined the original investor panel when the British programme launched in 2005. She was an entrepreneur best known for co-founding the gift company Red Letter Days, which sold experience vouchers and packages.

Her appearance helped establish the programme's original mix of investors, each bringing a different business background and style of questioning. Elnaugh left the regular panel after the early series, while later female investors became more familiar to many viewers.

Deborah Meaden is often incorrectly given this distinction because she became one of the show's longest-serving and most recognisable female dragons. However, Meaden joined later. The chronological wording is therefore important: Elnaugh was the first woman on the British investor panel, not the longest-serving female investor.