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Dragons' Den 2011: Episode one review

Posted by JohnSollars on Mon, 01/08/2011 - 11:46
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John Sollars, founder of Stinky Ink, reviews the first episode in the new series of Dragons' Den.

Dragons’ Den returned last night. The BBC has been trying to hype-up the excitement of a new Dragon, which I found quite off putting really. Hilary Devey - pronounced De Vey - is the new Dragoness on the block. She certainly didn’t come over as ‘normal’ with her Dynasty-style shoulder pads, and it’s the first time that there have been two women on the panel. Ms Devey is certainly trending on Twitter this morning, with most people focusing on her shoulder pads and Northern accent. I thought she came over as a really sane and sensible member of the panel -- all in all a good replacement for James Caan.

Three stand out moments of the first show were the very first presentation which was a disaster, but “mother of three” Georgette Hewitt managed to get her money in the end.
 
Then there was Hilary and Deborah having a little spat: “where there’s muck there’s luck,” growled Hilary at Deborah, who gave her one of ‘those’ looks!.
 
And finally Duncan trying to bully Chris “the former body builder from Halifax” I’m sure I heard him (Duncan) utter the lines “you’ve got five seconds to make a decision” before the general trench warfare that the Dragons sometimes indulge in took over and drowned him out. Duncan got his comeuppance though as he spat out that he was withdrawing his offer because Chris had the temerity to want to talk to the other Dragons, who then made him a considered and beneficial offer. 
 
On another note, I like Evan Davis. He comes over as the calm voice of sanity in a world of bitching and backbiting. I guess when he says that the Dragons are investing their own money, what he really means is that the BBC (i.e. our licence money) isn’t footing the bill, but the big question for me is how much money do these guys make out of the Den? It must be significant for them to give up so much of their own time to keep coming back. They certainly don’t strike me as the most altruistic bunch in town!
 

Is the format getting a bit stale and tired? I think so. The Dragons are so full of their own importance they are becoming a bit too smug and arrogant for my taste. I imagine the Beeb will keep the show running as a bit of a filler, but I wonder what the ratings are like nowadays? 

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A blog by Verity Gough

Gossip, intrigue and commentary from the world of business reality television.

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