Who was the first woman to serve as an investor on the UK television show Dragons’ Den?

Rachel Elnaugh was the first woman to serve as an investor on the UK television show Dragons’ Den. She joined the original investor panel when the BBC series began in 2005.

Elnaugh had built her reputation as an entrepreneur before television, notably through the Red Letter Days experience-gift company. Her appearance helped establish the programme’s early panel and made her one of its pioneering female business figures.

She left the regular panel after the initial series, while later investors such as Deborah Meaden, Kelly Hoppen and Sara Davies brought their own business backgrounds. Because several prominent women have appeared as Dragons, “first woman” refers to the earliest investor appointment in the British version, not the longest-serving or most frequently appearing female Dragon.