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Rhianna Benson

BBC Dragons' Den: The Dragons you forgot about and where they are now

Seventeen years since Dragons' Den first made an appearance on our television screens, it still remains one of the UK's most broadly-watched and widely-anticipated reality series' in British television history.

The show sees budding entrepreneurs, who each receive three minutes, pitch their business ideas to five menacing multimillionaires, all of whom are willing to invest their own cash if they're interested.

On the panel this year is world-renowned entrepreneur Peter Jones, who is the last remaining original investor on the show having taken part in every series since 2005, business executive Deborah Meaden, who has featured since series 2, fashion retail investor Touker Suleyman, who joined the show in 2015, crafting businesswoman Sara Davies, who has starred in the last three instalments, and Steven Bartlett, social media business pro and the newest and youngest ever dragon.

Read more: BBC Dragons' Den star Deborah Meaden is supported over her defiant face mask stance

But what's happened to our favourite Dragons from the past? We track down some former members of the Den to see where they are now...

Duncan Bannatyne

Duncan Bannatyne (BBC)

Arguably one of the most well known and prolific Dragons to have left the Den is Scottish entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne OBE, who appeared in every episode of the show for a decade.

Since finally departing in 2015, the 'business angel', 73, recognised for his corporate interests in hotels and health clubs, now has a wealth estimated at £280 million, with his widely-adored Bannatyne Health Club & Spa now being the largest independent chain of health clubs in the UK with 71 sites.

In recent weeks, the former dragon - who has also dabbled in the art of writing books over the years, having published seven - invested £100,000 into the creation of a luxury spa at Teeside International Airport.

He now lives in Portugal with his wife, Nigora Whitehorn.

Theo Paphitis

Another big-name Dragons' Den alumni is retail magnate Theo Paphitis, who featured between series 2 in 2005 until series 10 in 2012.

Best known for his straight-talking but approachable style of business, making numerous investments on the show, both alone and jointly with other Dragon investors, the Cypriot-born entrepreneur is now worth an estimated £290 million.

The Rymans, Robert Dyas and Boux Avenue owner has kept fans happy however, making several stand-in appearances on the show over the years when series regulars were unable to attend due to illness.

The 62-year-old now regularly invites small businesses to get in touch with him before and selecting one to highlight to his nearly half a million followers on Twitter each week. He is also the latest Chancellor of Southampton's Solent University, having been elected in 2018.

James Caan

In 2007, entrepreneur and TV personality James Caan joined the panel of dragons for a three-year stint between 2007-2010, making several high-profile investments including cable tie start-up Rapstrap, which ended up being one of the most successful-ever pitches in the Den, bagging £36m for him after the contract was sold.

After leaving the show to concentrate on the entrepreneurs he had 'already backed', the 61-year-old has launched several more businesses and charitable programmes, eventually being awarded a CBE from the Queen in recognition of his services to entrepreneurship in 2015.

He is also chairman of the UK Government's Start Up Loans Scheme, which supports young people with funding and mentoring to start up new businesses in the UK.

Caan remains an active investor and continues to back fast-growing start-ups across Britain, with a particular soft-spot for recruitment companies.

Hilary Devey

Business executive and on-screen media personality Hilary Devey made her enviable fortune launching £59 million annual revenue palletised freight network Pall-Ex before appearing on the 2010-2012 seasons of Dragons' Den, taking James Caan's place.

She also featured on popular Channel 4 series, Secret Millionaire, back in 2008, where she donated more than £70,000 to the Back Door Music Project and the Syke Community Centre. Two years later, she presented The Business Inspector for Channel 5, a four-part documentary series which saw her put her business acumen and expertise to the test to transform struggling small businesses into successful companies.

After leaving Dragons' Den, a now-64-year-old Devey presented BBC Two miniseries Hilary Devey's Women at the Top before moving to Channel 4 to host business documentary, The Intern, which saw her giving three young interns a week's trial in the job of their dreams, as well as Running The Shop in 2014.

The CBE, who started Pall-Ex in 1996, has since stepped away from the day-to-day running of her business, but will continue in an ambassadorial role to help develop its international services.

Piers Linney

Former Dragons' Den panellist, businessman and investor Piers Linney, has continued to assist in the support of aspiring entrepreneurs even after his 2015 departure from the show, offering widespread advice to fans through the media.

Recognised as one of the top 100 Black Britons and known as a champion of growth businesses, the 52-year-old is best known for being the Non Executive Director of UK government-owned development bank, British Business Bank, which has facilitated over £12 billion of financing for small companies. Prior to appearing in the Den, Linney, like Devey, also appeared on Secret Millionaire, which saw him spending most of his days working with young offenders in prison, later going in to employ and train one of them in business.

Piers Linney (BBC)

Life after Dragons' Den, where he most notably invested in award-winning independent technology and publishing business Wonderbly - which has sold over 2.7 million books in over 200 countries around the world and raised $8.5m in 2017 from Ravensburger - saw him operating the StartUp Loan Company as well as the British Patient Capital, a £2.5bn fund launched in 2018.

The same year, he was named in the top 20 of Financial Times' 'Top 100 minority ethnic leaders in technology' as well as one of the Top 100 BAME Leaders in Business and in the same category for Tech.

Sarah Willingham

Dragons' Den judge Sarah Willingham chuckles while handling her own eight-inch Not Dog (BBC)

Investor and consumer champion Sarah Willingham is also known for her tenure as a Dragon on the 13th and 14th series, between 2015 and 2016.

Now one of Europe’s most prominent entrepreneurs, Willingham - who has consistently emphasised her belief that parenthood and business can exist simultaneously without sacrificing the quality of each other - has also exhibited her passion for investing in growing businesses on everyday money matters and consumer affairs across television, radio, online and written media.

Best known for her management of high-street restaurants, such as Planet Hollywood and Pizza Express, she has now been named as one of Sunday Times' '500 Most Influential people in Britain'.

Her company, The Cocktail Club, has opened several high-class bars across London and the south of England since she departed the den, and she is also a shareholder of the UK’s largest subscription business for alcohol, 'Craft Gin Club' which she invested on the show.

She lives between Switzerland and the UK with her family.

Jenny Campbell

Jenny, second left, in the Den (BBC)

Cheshire-born entrepreneur Jenny Campbell shared her business experience with hopeful candidates on the 15th and 16th series of Dragons' Den, demonstrating her “feisty northern grit” to the panel and consistently sticking true to her "live by corporate standards, but breathe like an entrepreneur" motto. She in 12 businesses across both series'.

Best known for buying independent ATM provider YourCash, which became a leading provider in European retail market by handling millions of ATM transactions and processing billions in cash value, before selling it for £50 million, the business leader also has a Vitalise 'Businesswoman of the Year' award under her belt for her company's impressive expansion.

She left the show in 2015 to focus on her charity work, now communicating closely with business and enterprise charities to help young people harness their entrepreneurial spirits.

The 60-year-old has also since become the Vice Chair of the Prince's Trust Enterprise Fellowshow programme, which sees the UK’s leading entrepreneurs supporting and inspiring the next generation. She simultaneously works as a Board Director of the UK Kennel Club.

Tej Lalvani

Tej is the CEO of famous vitamin brand Vitabiotics (BBC)

Businessman and vitamin company was arguably one of the 'friendlier' Dragons to have ever entered the Den, having appeared between 2017 to 2021 until he was succeeded by current panellist Steven Bartlett.

Despite starting his career working in the warehouse of his scientist father's company Vitabiotics, he rose through the firm to eventually become CEO of the UK's largest vitamin businesses, turning over £300 million annually and making it the first British company to win the Queen’s Award for Innovation in vitamin research.

Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies, Deborah Meaden, Tej Lalvani, Peter Jones on Dragons Den (BBC Studios)

With an estimated net worth of £390 million, the 46-year-old reportedly made more investments than any of his more seasoned counterparts, nearly £2 million in total.

The 'Prince of Vitamins' and his wife, Tara Ruby, are also now business partners, running a successful London-based property investment company together.

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