Hilary Lorraine Devey CBE (née Brewster; 10 March 1957 – 11 June 2022) was an English businesswoman and television personality best known for her role on the BBC Two programme Dragons' Den until she left to present the Channel 4 series The Intern.
[3] As a seven-year-old child, she witnessed the results of the bankruptcy of her father, who had owned a central heating company, when bailiffs removed furniture and household goods from the family home.
It was based on the well-established hub-and-spoke express parcels distribution model: this form of pallet network was pioneered by Palletline in 1992.
[6] Devey featured in several television programmes, including The Secret Millionaire in 2008, in which she donated more than £70,000 to the Back Door Music Project and the Syke Community Centre in Rochdale.
[17] Devey was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), in the 2013 Birthday Honours, for services to the transport industry and charity.
[20] Devey was an ambassador of the British Citizen Awards, a ceremony held bi-annually to reward everyday individuals and their contribution to society.
She also had a house in London and villas in Morocco, Spain, and Boca Raton, Florida, and for a time, owned a mansion in the state, which she sold in 2014 for £5.42 million.
[28][29][30] Tributes were paid by her former Dragons' Den co-stars Theo Paphitis, who said Devey "left [them] with some fantastic memories, may she rest in peace"; Duncan Bannatyne, who tweeted he was sad to hear of her passing, noting that Devey had died "too young"; and Deborah Meaden, who described her as "unique in every way", adding that she "brought grit and warmth with her into the den.