Steven Bartlett to appear as youngest Dragon’s Den
Date for the diary: January 6th, 8pm on BBC ONE
The BBC earlier this year announced that 28-year-old entrepreneur and Sunday Times best-selling author Steven Bartlett is set to join current Dragons Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman and Sara Davies for the 19th series of Dragons’ Den.
I’ve been watching Dragons’ Den since I was 12 years old – it was my first window into the real world of business and investing. It’s a tremendous honour to join the Den, hopefully representing a new generation of entrepreneurs, inspiring young and specifically under-represented entrepreneurs to follow in my footsteps.”
Steven Bartlett
Steven is the founder and former CEO of the social media marketing agency The Social Chain which he set up from a bedroom in Manchester. He dropped out of university and built the group’s two flagship companies, Social Chain and Media Chain, when he was just 22 years old before taking his company public at 27, with a current market valuation of over £300m.
Steven has been filming in the Den this summer for the 19th series of the entrepreneurial TV hit. Currently in the middle of its 18th series run and debut on BBC One.
Racking up accolades such as Forbes 30 under 30 and the Entrepreneur Rising Star at the Black British Business Awards. Steven also was inducted into Manchester’s Hall of Fame by the Mayor of Greater Manchester in 2019.
Steven took part in Secret Teacher on Channel 4, a four-part TV series, where multi-million business entrepreneurs go back to school undercover, covered by Broke Girl in the City.
Happy Sexy Millionaire
As well as finding time to become a best-selling author with the release of his recent debut book Happy Sexy Millionaire. Steven also acts as a speaker, investor and content creator – and hosts a top-charting podcast, The Diary of a CEO.
Sarah Clay, the BBC’s Commissioning Editor of Entertainment says: “As well as being our youngest ever Dragon, Steven’s unique approach to business will bring a whole new dynamic to the Den. He brings a wealth of experience from the social media, technological and brand-building worlds. I’m so excited to see him in the next series.”
“I’ve been watching Dragons’ Den since I was 12 years old – it was my first window into the real world of business and investing. It’s a tremendous honour to join the Den, hopefully representing a new generation of entrepreneurs, inspiring young and specifically under-represented entrepreneurs to follow in my footsteps.”
Steven Bartlett
Chi Ukairo, Dragons’ Den Executive Producer, BBC Studios added: “Steven is a great addition to the Den and we are all looking forward to seeing him in action when we start filming this summer.”
Dragons’ Den is a BBC Studios production.
Three Sixty – Steve & Krissy
Sign up for Three Sixty, a new community co-founded by Steven, which starts 1 st January.
Steven Bartlett – The Diary of a CEO
Steven Bartlett is the 28-year-old founder of the social media marketing agency Social Chain. Having dropped out of University, he built what would become one of the world’s most influential social media companies at just 22 years old. Before taking his company public at 27 years old with a current market valuation of over £300m. Bartlett exited the business after six successful years in order to pursue other investment opportunities.
Steven acts as a speaker, investor, author and content creator and host of The Diary of a CEO podcast. Steven recently released his debut book Happy Sexy Millionaire which is a Sunday Times bestseller. He is particularly focused on inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurs and creators from under-represented backgrounds. Much of his work after winning the Entrepreneur Rising Star at the Black British Business Awards focuses on disadvantaged schools and communities.
More recently Steven has invested in and joined the board of Huel, which is the UK’s fastest-growing eCommerce company internationally.
