Rachel Elnaugh was the only woman among the five original Dragons when the British series Dragon's Den began.
The first British panel consisted of Rachel Elnaugh, Duncan Bannatyne, Peter Jones, Theo Paphitis and John Caudwell. Elnaugh was an entrepreneur best known for co-founding Red Letter Days, a company selling experience gifts.
Her participation gave the original panel a female investor with experience in the rapidly expanding experience-gift market. She appeared in the first series, before Deborah Meaden joined the programme in the following series.
A common mix-up is to identify Deborah Meaden as an original Dragon because she became one of the show's most recognisable long-term investors. She was not part of the initial five-person panel; Elnaugh held that distinction at launch.