Sara Davies Leaving Dragons’ Den: Why She Left

Last updated 8 July 2026. This is a living page, refreshed if anything changes on the panel.

Sara Davies has left Dragons' Den. She announced her departure on 6 March 2025, and the series 22 finale was her final appearance, closing a six-year run on the panel. She said she was stepping away to focus on her own business, the craft company Crafter's Companion, and pointedly framed it as leaving for now rather than for good.

Her exit is the reason the Den's fifth chair now rotates through guest Dragons. Here is why she left in her own words, when her last episode aired, and the deal record she leaves behind.

Why did Sara Davies leave Dragons' Den?

Davies said the decision came down to time. In her announcement she explained that she had taken the decision to step away from the Den for now, to focus on her own business. She later told The One Show it was not the easiest decision to make, and that there were not quite enough pieces of her to keep going around given everything else she was doing.

That is a founder's problem, not a fallout. Davies still runs Crafter's Companion, the craft-products brand she built from her university bedroom into a multi-million-pound global business, and the demands of scaling it were what pulled her away from filming. Her wording, for now, deliberately left the door open to a return.

When was Sara Davies's last episode?

Her last appearance was the series 22 finale. She had joined the show in 2019 as the youngest Dragon on the panel at the time, so her run spanned six years and six series before she bowed out. Viewers who had grown attached to her said they were sad to see her go, and several named her their favourite Dragon in reaction to the news.

Because she announced the move in March 2025, before the following series was filmed, series 23 in 2026 is the first full series without her. That makes her six-series stint, from 2019 to the series 22 finale, the complete span of her time as a Dragon.

What was Sara Davies's record in the Den?

Over her six years, our index credits Sara Davies with 36 on-air deals and about 1.3 million pounds committed. That places her in the middle of the pack among the main Dragons for total money, which fits her reputation: a specialist rather than the biggest spender in the room.

Her sweet spot was product. With a background in developing and selling craft goods direct to consumers, she was strongest on pitches that involved a physical product, retail packaging, and a route to market she understood first-hand. Founders in crafting, homeware and maker-led brands tended to get her most engaged questioning, and her best offers.

That expertise came from doing it herself. Davies started Crafter's Companion as a student, turning a single craft product into a business that now sells around the world, and she was still running it throughout her time on the show. Her value to founders was that she had recently walked the exact path they were on, from prototype to shelf, which is why her exit takes a specific kind of hands-on product knowledge off the panel.

Who replaced Sara Davies?

No single Dragon took her permanent seat. Instead, series 23 fills the fifth chair with a rotating cast of guest Dragons, one per episode, including Susie Ma of Tropic Skincare, the musician Tinie Tempah, REFY's Jenna Meek, and the returning Gary Neville. The resident four, Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman and Steven Bartlett, stay put.

With Touker Suleyman also announcing his departure after series 23, the panel is in flux, and how the fifth chair is filled permanently is one of the open questions heading into the next series.

Common questions

Why did Sara Davies leave Dragons' Den? To focus on her own business, Crafter's Companion, saying there were not quite enough pieces of her to keep going around across all her commitments.

When did Sara Davies leave Dragons' Den? She announced it on 6 March 2025, and the series 22 finale was her last episode.

How long was Sara Davies a Dragon? Six years, having joined in 2019 as the youngest Dragon on the panel at the time.

Who replaced Sara Davies on Dragons' Den? No permanent replacement was named. A rotating cast of guest Dragons fills the fifth chair in series 23.