The programme is produced by BBC Studios Factual Entertainment Productions and co-produced with Sony Pictures Television International, the owners of the format that is distributed worldwide.
Strict rules apply that they have had no prior contact with the current panel of dragons and will sign a non-disclosure agreement, prohibiting them from publicly discussing the details of their time on the show until it has been broadcast.
[9] As part of their opening pitch, which they advised to keep to a maximum of three to five minutes, entrepreneurs must clearly state their name, the name of the business, the amount of money they require, and the percentage of equity they would ideally give in exchange.
Building work necessitated another move, this time to Pinewood Studios, only two weeks before a series was due to be shot; the production designer had to create a complete set on the film stage, including a staircase which descended down into the underfloor tank.
[28][30] ElectroExpo (renamed Chocbox), a plastic housing protection for cables pitched in series 5 episode 5 by Peter Moule, is reported to have made £25 million in global sales since first appearing on the show, accepting a £100,000 investment for 36% from Duncan Bannatyne and James Caan.
[28][31] Magic Whiteboard, portable sheets of A1 sticky paper pitched by Neil and Laura Westwood in series 6 episode 5, is reported to have had sales pushed from an annual £45,000 to £1.2 million, following a joint investment made by Deborah Meaden and Theo Paphitis at £100,000 for 40%.
[28][30][32] Worthenshaw's (rebranded as Kirsty's), a frozen dairy-free dessert and alternative to ice cream pitched in series 8 episode 1, is reported to have a net worth of £4 million to date following investment from Duncan Bannatyne and Peter Jones.
[28][30][36] GripIt, an aid for fixing screws into plasterboard pitched in series 12 episode 5 by Jordan Daykin, has been reported to be worth £14 million since receiving investment from Deborah Meaden at £80,000 for 25%.
Destination London, a board game pitched in series 1 episode 4 by Rachel Lowe, went on to reach a mass-market and design several editions for various companies before selling the business in 2010.
[44][30][45] Tangle Teezer, a range of styling hairbrushes pitched in series 5 episode 3 by Shaun Pulfrey, is widely considered to be the most successful business not to receive an offer in the den, reportedly turning over in excess of £30 million a year.
[46][30][47] Hungryhouse, an online takeaway food order and delivery service pitched in series 5 episode 5 by Tony Charles and Shane Lake, declined investment from Duncan Bannatyne and James Caan after filming opting to accept another investor's offer.
[48][49] Hornit, a bicycle horn reaching a volume of 140 decibels pitched in series 12 episode 10 by Tom De Pelet, was reported to have grossed over £3 million in sales following his appearance.
This has occasionally resulted in entrepreneurs announcing difficulty in meeting subsequent supply demands as well as attributing to claims that half of the deals accepted on-screen are not completed after filming.
[15][14] The articles claimed that the Dragons either pulled out of the deals over minor technicalities, deliberately offered unfavourable terms to the entrepreneurs in an effort to make them withdraw, or simply broke off all contact with them after the recording.
[55] Dan Forster, who compiled the research for Tiger Mobiles, claimed that the issue was less about the structure of deals and more about the kind of companies that the BBC invites to take part in the show.
"[58] From Series 1 to 11 the Telegraph's research claimed:[14] The differences between the agreement televised and the deals proposed after filming have caused controversy regarding how entrepreneurs are treated on the show.
In 2012, the show faced calls to be cancelled following allegations that many entrepreneurs were being misled to believe their pledge of investment was based on returns from equity when in fact the deals were little different from personal loans.
[63][64] Birmingham entrepreneurs Howard Brown and Alex Black, owners of Real Infra Red Ltd, an underfloor heating business, complained that despite achieving £85,000 investment from Touker Suleyman during filming for series 19, they were not featured in any of the episodes.
[9][65] The third episode of series 21 saw entrepreneur Giselle Boxer, owner of East Healing Ltd, accept an offer from Steven Bartlett at £50,000 at 12.5% after pitching the company's product 'Acu Seeds,' acupuncture ear kits.
[72] Steven Bartlett's brother Jason stood down as the company's director as of the 20th February 2024, indicating that the investment was withdrawn following the bad publicity the product had received.
[54] She then appointed a solicitor to review the contract and became aware she had limited access to the £80,000 loan, whilst the dragons had nonetheless purchased the 22.5% equity stake originally agreed upon for just £29.
[54] Responding to Wright's allegations, Caan stated 'Unfortunately, within a few months of Sharon appearing [on Dragons' Den] she decided that due to the success and positive feedback from the show she would prefer to keep 100% of her company, which Duncan and I fully supported.
'[78] Richard Farleigh's departure from the series was met with controversy following the announcement that British-Pakistani businessman James Caan would be his replacement, leading to suggestions that the BBC had not invited him back in favour of having a new dragon from an ethnic minority.
"[79] A BBC spokeswoman said "Richard will remain very much a part of the Dragons' Den team and will appear in related shows such when we catch up on some of the investments, It is a perfectly normal transition for the series.
[81] Only days before the filming of series 8, Bannatyne pointed out on Twitter that Caan is chairman of the Big Issue, which employs sellers with criminal pasts, and asking how they could now work with their chief.
Cameras followed Charles Ejogo, who planned to put umbrella vending machines in London Underground stations, jewellery designer Elizabeth Galton, magazine publisher Huw Gwyther and Rachel Lowe, whose London-based board game caught their eye.
Each episode follows the Dragons (James Caan, Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, Theo Paphitis and Duncan Bannatyne) as they travel by bus around the United Kingdom to find out what some of the budding entrepreneurs who had appeared on the show have been up to since, including success stories, awful failures, and some very obvious missed opportunities.
[97][78] Shortly before the launch of the second series in 2005, Elnaugh's company Red Letter Days went into administration and its remaining assets were bought by fellow dragons Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis.
Although Elnaugh was at the helm before and at the time of the company's failure, she blamed the problems on the actions of the previous CEO whom she appointed in 2002, whilst she took a non-executive role to have her fourth child.
[112] His final appearance was in the last episode of series 12, in which he made an investment jointly with Peter Jones in a cash-and-carry business seeking finance for a new sports drink.