Duncan Bannatyne left the UK programme Dragon's Den in 2014 after more than eight years on the panel.
Bannatyne was one of the original dragons when the British series began in 2005. He was known for a direct approach to pitches and for business interests that included health clubs, care homes and hotels. His departure ended one of the longest early tenures on the programme.
The exit was announced in 2014, and he was subsequently replaced on the panel. By then, the show had already undergone several cast changes, so the original lineup was no longer intact. Bannatyne's recognisable public profile meant that his departure was widely noted outside the programme itself.
The year can be confused with the dates when other original investors left. Theo Paphitis departed earlier, while Peter Jones remained. The wording “original investor” identifies Bannatyne as a launch-era dragon; it does not mean that he was the only investor to leave during the show's first decade.