Who Are the Dragons in 2026? (Full Panel)

Last updated 8 July 2026. This is a living page, refreshed as the BBC confirms panel changes.

In 2026, the resident Dragons on the UK Dragons' Den are Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman and Steven Bartlett. A fifth chair rotates between guest Dragons across series 23, so a single episode still features five investors, but only four of them are permanent members of the panel.

The line-up is in a period of change. Sara Davies left after series 22, and Touker Suleyman has announced that series 23 will be his last. Here is who sits in the Den today, who is rotating through the guest seat, and what each Dragon's deal record looks like in our index.

Who are the resident Dragons in 2026?

Peter Jones is the constant. He has appeared in every single series since the show began in 2005, made his fortune in telecoms and consumer electronics, and remains the panel's most prolific dealmaker. Deborah Meaden, a Dragon since 2006, sold her family leisure business for around 33 million pounds and is the panel's go-to backer for sustainable, well-run consumer and retail brands.

Touker Suleyman, a rag-trade veteran who owns the shirtmaker Hawes & Curtis and the fashion brand Ghost, has been the Dragon to beat on manufacturing, retail margins and supply chains since he joined in 2015. Steven Bartlett, who built the marketing company Social Chain and hosts The Diary of a CEO podcast, joined in 2021 as the youngest Dragon in the show's history and tends to back consumer, wellness and technology brands.

Who are the guest Dragons in series 23?

With Sara Davies gone, series 23 fills the fifth chair with a rotating cast of guest Dragons, one per episode. The line-up for 2026 is Susie Ma, founder and chief executive of Tropic Skincare; the musician and entrepreneur Tinie Tempah, founder of Imhotep Records; Jenna Meek, chief executive of the beauty brand REFY; and the former footballer and businessman Gary Neville, who returns after guesting in 2024.

Guest Dragons change the room. Each is a specialist, so a founder who happens to pitch in front of the right guest, a beauty entrepreneur in front of Jenna Meek, say, can land a deal a generalist might never offer. It also keeps the panel fresh while the show settles its permanent line-up.

What is each Dragon's deal record?

The numbers below come from our index of the UK series. Peter Jones leads on both counts, with 77 on-air deals and more than 3 million pounds committed, the most of any Dragon. Deborah Meaden is next with 66 deals and about 2.6 million pounds. Touker Suleyman has done 41 deals worth roughly 1.5 million pounds, and Sara Davies, in her six years, closed 36 deals worth about 1.3 million pounds.

Steven Bartlett is the interesting case in the data. Our index attributes 13 deals to him, all from series 22, but his invested total shows as zero because the individual cheque splits behind those joint series 22 deals have not been broken out publicly. In other words, the deals are counted, but the money each Dragon put in cannot yet be split cleanly, so treat his figure as a floor, not a total.

Who has left the panel?

Sara Davies announced in March 2025 that she was stepping away to focus on her craft business, Crafter's Companion, and the series 22 finale was her last appearance. Her exit is why the fifth chair now rotates through guests.

Touker Suleyman is the next to go. In early June 2026 he announced that series 23 would be his last, after a decade in the Den, saying it was time for new blood and that he would concentrate on mentoring the entrepreneurs he has backed. No replacement has been named, so the shape of the 2027 panel is still open.

Common questions

Who are the Dragons on Dragons' Den in 2026? The four resident Dragons are Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman and Steven Bartlett, with a guest Dragon rotating through the fifth chair.

Who are the new Dragons in 2026? The series 23 guest Dragons are Susie Ma, Tinie Tempah, Jenna Meek and the returning Gary Neville.

Is Sara Davies still a Dragon? No. She left after series 22, having announced her departure in March 2025.

Which Dragon has done the most deals? Peter Jones, with 77 on-air deals and more than 3 million pounds committed in our index, more than any other Dragon.