Which woman was the first female Dragon on the British television show Dragon's Den?

Rachel Elnaugh was the first female Dragon on the British television show Dragon's Den.

Elnaugh joined the original panel for the programme's first series in 2005. She was an entrepreneur associated with Red Letter Days, a gift-experience company that sold vouchers for activities and unusual experiences. Her appearance gave the opening panel its first female investor.

Deborah Meaden is often named in this connection because she became one of the programme's most recognisable female Dragons. Meaden joined the panel after Elnaugh, replacing her for the second series. Sara Davies and Kelly Hoppen arrived much later still.

Elnaugh's tenure was brief compared with some later Dragons, but her place in the show's history is fixed by the timing of her appointment. “First female Dragon” means the first woman to serve on the UK panel, rather than the first woman to receive an investment from the programme.