Who was the first female Dragon on the original BBC series Dragons' Den?

Rachel Elnaugh was the first female Dragon on the original BBC series Dragons' Den.

Elnaugh appeared in the first series of the British programme, which began in 2005. Before joining the panel, she had become known as a businesswoman through Red Letter Days, a company selling experience gifts. Her background made her a notable early representative of female entrepreneurship on the show.

Deborah Meaden is sometimes mistakenly given this distinction because she became the programme's longest-running female Dragon and one of its most visible investors. Meaden, however, joined after Elnaugh's first-series appearance. Other women, including Kelly Hoppen and Sara Davies, arrived still later.

Elnaugh's time on the regular panel was comparatively brief, but her place in the show's history is fixed by chronology. “First female Dragon” refers to the original British series, not every international version of the format.