Overview
- The BBC's Dragons' Den returned Thursday, August 20, 2026, with guest Dragons Jenna Meek and Susie Ma joining Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones and Steven Bartlett to create the programme's first episode with more women than men on the panel.
- The guest appearances follow the earlier departures of Sara Davies and Touker Suleyman and form part of a plan to use rotating guest investors for the remainder of series 23.
- The August 20 episode featured four entrepreneurs pitching consumer businesses: Selkie (powder-to-liquid shampoo refills), Mr Swainstons (retro sweet shop), Spice Kitchen (handcrafted spice tins) and Plotpackers (group trips for solo travellers, which the company says has carried more than 4,000 people).
- Coverage also profiled guest Dragon Jenna Meek, noting she co‑founded beauty brand REFY and that outlets report REFY turnover above £40m and an estimated personal net worth of about £52m; those figures were reported by media and not independently verified.
- Producers and founders say the show continues to serve as a high‑visibility platform that can bring investment, customers and publicity to early-stage consumer brands and will now do so while relying more on guest Dragons for dealmaking and judging.