Rachel Elnaugh was the first female investor on the BBC television series Dragon's Den.
Elnaugh joined the original panel when Dragon's Den began in 2005. She was already known as an entrepreneur through Red Letter Days, a business selling experience gifts such as driving days, spa visits and other leisure activities.
Her appearance helped establish the show's early investor lineup alongside Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Theo Paphitis and chairman Richard Farleigh. Elnaugh appeared during the programme's first series and became an important early representative of female entrepreneurship on the show.
A common mix-up is to identify Deborah Meaden as the first female Dragon because she became the programme's most enduring female investor. Meaden joined later, while Elnaugh occupied that distinction at the show's launch.