Deborah Sonia Meaden (born 11 February 1959) is a British businesswoman and TV personality who ran a multimillion-pound family holiday business, before completing a
management buyout
A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...
. She is best known for her appearances as a 'Dragon' on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
business programme ''
Dragons' Den
''Dragons' Den'' is a reality television program format in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it is k ...
''.
Early life
Meaden was born in
Taunton, Somerset
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
. Her parents divorced when she was young, and her mother moved Deborah and her older sister Gail to
Brightlingsea
Brightlingsea is a coastal town and an electoral ward in the Tendring district of Essex, England. It is situated between Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea, at the mouth of the River Colne, on Brightlingsea Creek. At the 2011 Census, it had a popu ...
in Essex. Meaden went to the
Godolphin School
Godolphin School is an independent boarding and day school for girls in Salisbury, England, which was founded in 1726 and opened in 1784. The school educates girls between the ages of three and eighteen.
History
Godolphin was founded by Eliz ...
,
Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath.
Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
, for a brief period and then to Trowbridge High School for Girls (now
The John of Gaunt School
The John of Gaunt School is a Mixed-sex education, mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Trowbridge in the English county of Wiltshire. The school is named after John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, as the school is built upon land ...
) which she left at the age of 16.
Career
On leaving school, Meaden studied business at Brighton Technical College, after which she worked as a sales-room model in a fashion house. After graduation, she moved to Italy at 19 and set up a glass and ceramics export agency, which sold products to retailers including
Harvey Nichols
Harvey Nichols is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831, at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections for men and women, fashion accessories, beauty products, fine wines and luxury f ...
. The company failed after 18 months.
Meaden and a partner bought one of the first Stefanel textile
franchises
Franchise may refer to:
Business and law
* Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees
* Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
in the UK, which was based in the
West Country
The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...
; she sold out two years later to her partner for £10,000. She then had several successful leisure and retail businesses, including a spell operating a Prize Bingo at
Butlins
Butlin's is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families.
Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one in Ireland and o ...
in
Minehead
Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National P ...
.
In 1988, Meaden joined her family's business to run its
amusement arcade
An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as cl ...
operations and in 1992, joined Weststar Holidays, a family holiday park operator based in
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
, Devon, with its major sites in
South West England
South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...
. In 1999, she led a management buyout and acquired the majority shareholding. By the time she sold the company six years later, Weststar was providing holidays for more than 150,000 people each year with an
EBITDA
A company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (commonly abbreviated EBITDA, pronounced , , or ) is a measure of a company's profitability of the operating business only, thus before any effects of indebtedness, stat ...
in excess of £11 million. In 2005, she made a partial exit when Weststar was sold in a deal worth £33 million to
Phoenix Equity Partners
Phoenix Equity Partners is a United Kingdom mid-market private equity firm. It specialises in working with management teams to help grow their businesses. It invests in companies valued at up to £150m.
History
Phoenix was co-founded in 2001 by H ...
, and, in August 2007, her remaining stake of 23% in Weststar Holidays was liquidated when the firm was sold to
Alchemy Partners
Alchemy Partners is a British private equity firm, which specialises in investing in distressed and undervalued or underperforming businesses and other special situations through debt and equity throughout Europe.
Alchemy was founded in 1997 by ...
for £83 million, valuing her stake at about £19 million.
In 2009, Meaden acquired Fox Brothers (a West Country textile mill established in 1772 and still based in
Wellington, Somerset
Wellington is a market town in rural Somerset, a county in the west of England, situated south west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district, near the border with Devon, which runs along the Blackdown Hills to the south of the tow ...
) along with fellow shareholder, Douglas Cordeaux, former design director at
Pepe Jeans
Pepe Jeans London is a denim and casual wear jeans brand established in the Portobello Road area of London in 1973, and now based in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Spain.
Carlos Ortega was the CEO, and owns more than 20% of the company.
History
Pepe ...
London. She was also involved in a collaboration with BBC conductor
Charles Hazlewood
Charles Matthew Egerton Hazlewood (born 14 November 1966) is a British conductor. After winning the European Broadcasting Union conducting competition in 1995 whilst still in his twenties, In October 2011, Meaden launched 'The Merchant Fox', an online store selling British-made luxury goods with provenance.
In 2009, a planning inspector criticised Meaden's evidence to his enquiry as "implausible" in a dispute over the granting of village green status to a field on which Mudstone LLP, a firm in which she is a partner, wished to build 48 homes.
Television
''Dragons' Den''
Meaden is known for her appearances as an investor ('dragon') on the
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
series ''
Dragons' Den
''Dragons' Den'' is a reality television program format in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it is k ...
'', where she took over from
Rachel Elnaugh
Rachel Elnaugh (born 12 December 1964) is a British entrepreneur who founded the UK gift company Red Letter Days. She was one of the investors participating in the first two series of BBC Two's TV show ''Dragons' Den''.
Early life
When she w ...
in the third series in August 2006. Like Elnaugh, Meaden was the only female investor, although this changed in subsequent seasons with the arrival of
Hilary Devey
Hilary Lorraine Devey CBE ( Brewster; 10 March 1957 – 11 June 2022) was an English businesswoman and television personality best known for her role on the BBC Two programme ''Dragons' Den'' until she left to present the Channel 4 series ''The ...
to replace
James Caan
James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...
. , she has agreed investments through this route in 63 businesses to a value of over £3.3 million.
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
dancing show ''
Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
'', which began on 7 September 2013 and was partnered with professional dancer
Robin Windsor
Robin Windsor (born 15 September 1979) is a British professional Latin and Ballroom dancer, best known for his appearances in the BBC television series '' Strictly Come Dancing''.
Personal life
Windsor was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, and grew u ...
. She was eliminated from the show on 26 October.
Other appearances
*''
GMTV
GMTV (an acronym for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited, was the name of the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 ...
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' is a British chat show presented by Jonathan Ross and broadcast on BBC One between 2001 and 2010. The programme features Ross' take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews (usually three per show) ...
Pointless
''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers to ...
'' (2010)
*''
Loose Women
''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about ...
'' (2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017)
*''
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
''The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' is a British daytime chat show presented by Alan Titchmarsh. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2007 until 14 November 2014 and aired on weekday afternoons. The show's main focus is the "Best of British" them ...
'' (2011, 2012)
*''
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...
'' (2011, 2012, 2013, 2019)
*''
Ask Rhod Gilbert
''Ask Rhod Gilbert'' is a British comedy panel show produced by Green Inc for the BBC. It began on 27 September 2010 and ended on 9 November 2011 on BBC One, it is presented by Rhod Gilbert with Greg Davies and Lloyd Langford as regular panelists. ...
'' (2011)
*''
Celebrity Antiques Road Trip
''Antiques Road Trip'' (also known as ''Celebrity Antiques Road Trip'') is a BBC television series produced by STV Studios. It was first shown on BBC Two from 2010 to 2012, and has been shown on BBC One since 2013. This show is not to be confu ...
'' (2011)
*''
12 Again
''12 Again'' is a show that premiered on CBBC on 13 February 2012. It is presented by Iain Stirling
Iain Andrew Stirling (born 27 January 1988) is a British comedian, writer, television presenter, actor, narrator and Twitch streamer from ...
Room 101
The Ministry of Truth, the Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Love, and the Ministry of Plenty are the four ministries of the government of Oceania in the 1949 dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', by George Orwell.
The use of contradictory ...
'' (2013)
*''
The Agenda
''The Agenda with Steve Paikin'', or simply ''The Agenda'', is the flagship current affairs television program of TVOntario (TVO), Ontario's public broadcaster. Anchor Steve Paikin states that the show practices long-form journalism. Each hour- ...
8 Out of 10 Cats
''8 Out of 10 Cats'' is a British comedy panel show broadcast on Channel 4 and its sister networks, airing since 3 June 2005. The show is hosted by Jimmy Carr; the current team captains are Rob Beckett and Katherine Ryan.
The show is based on ...
'' (2014)
*''
The Guess List
''The Guess List'' is a British comedy game show that was broadcast on BBC One from 12 April to 24 May 2014. Presented by Rob Brydon, it features two contestants competing for a prize specially selected for them.
Production
The pilot episode wa ...
Hacker Time
''Hacker Time'' is a British children's sketch comedy talk show, broadcast by CBBC, starring Hacker T. Dog, a character from Scoop. In each episode, Hacker interviews a celebrity, and plays games and the show also includes recurring segments, su ...
'' (2014)
*''
Murder in Successville
''Murder in Successville'' is a British sitcom with improvisational elements created by Andy Brereton and Avril Spary. The series aired on BBC Three from 6 May 2015 to 24 May 2017. ''Murder in Successville'' stars Tom Davis as DI Desmond Sleet ...
Insert Name Here
''Insert Name Here'' is a British comedy panel game show presented by Sue Perkins. The programme made its debut on BBC Two on 4 January 2016. In each episode two teams of three compete to answer questions about famous people, past and present, ...
'' (2016)
*''
Don't Ask Me Ask Britain
''Don't Ask Me Ask Britain'' is a British television comedy panel game show that has aired on ITV from 18 April until 23 May 2017 and is hosted by Alexander Armstrong with Frank Skinner and Jonathan Ross as the team captains. The series is produ ...
'' (2017)
*''
Sunday Brunch
''Sunday Brunch'' is a British television programme presented by Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer. It is broadcast live on Channel 4 on Sunday mornings and features cookery and interviews with celebrity guests.
Format
The programme began on 25 Ma ...
'' (2017)
*''Beast of Man, Episode 8'' (2019)
Books
Meaden published ''Common Sense Rules'' (Random House) in the UK in May 2009. She used a ghostwriting service known as Professional Ghost to complete this project.
Other work
In November 2009, Meaden featured in a short film to promote Somerset to businesses, commissioned by
Into Somerset
Into Somerset was an inward investment agency for the county of Somerset, England. It worked with local authorities, other economic agencies and private sector partners, to encourage business relocation to Somerset.
Into Somerset was created in ...
, having previously recorded two other short films for the inward investment agency in February 2009.
Meaden is a member of the Council of Ambassadors of the
World Wildlife Fund
The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...
.
She does a lot of work with the
Dogs Trust
Dogs Trust, known until 2003 as the National Canine Defence League, is a British animal welfare charity and humane society which specialises in the well-being of dogs. It is the largest dog welfare charity in the United Kingdom, caring for ove ...
charity and is an ambassador for the
Marine Conservation Society
The Marine Conservation Society is a UK based not-for-profit organization working with businesses, governments and communities to clean and protect the oceans. Founded in 1983, the group claims to be working towards "cleaner, better-protected, h ...
.
In March 2022, she started her own
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
calle The Big Green Money Show In it, she aims to find out what are big and small companies doing to reduce their impact on the planet.
Personal life
Meaden met her husband in summer 1985, while he worked at Weststar during his university break. They separated, but after she took a trip to Venezuela, she returned to London and they married in 1993. The couple have no children and live in a period property near
Langport
Langport is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The parish, which covers only part of the town, has a population of 1,081. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, a separate ...
in Somerset with numerous animals. Meaden bought the property in 2006 after selling her Weststar Holidays business for £33 million. Since then, the house has undergone extensive renovations using period accurate materials.
She is an
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
. Meaden has listed her favourite film as ''
The Shawshank Redemption
''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. It tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), w ...
'', her favourite holiday destination as
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and South America and her favourite sport as
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
. In October 2020, Meaden adopted a
plant-based diet
A plant-based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant-based foods. Plant-based diets encompass a wide range of dietary patterns that contain low amounts of animal products and high amounts of plant products such as vegetables, fru ...
.
In August 2022, Meaden revealed that she had been diagnosed with
squamous cell carcinoma
Squamous-cell carcinomas (SCCs), also known as epidermoid carcinomas, comprise a number of different types of cancer that begin in squamous cells. These cells form on the surface of the skin, on the lining of hollow organs in the body, and on the ...
, a type of
skin cancer
Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BCC) ...
, in 2015, after her makeup artist noticed a suspicious small spot on her face around six weeks prior to her diagnosis.
Honours
In July 2010, Meaden was awarded an honorary degree from the
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...
Business School. She also received an honorary degree from
Staffordshire University
, mottoeng = Dare to know
, type = Public
, endowment = £70 million (2015)
, administrative_staff = 1,375
, chancellor = Francis Fitzherbert, 15th Baron Stafford
, vice_chancellor = Professor Martin Jones
, ...
in the same month. She was given an honorary degree at
Keele University
Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Keele ...
in July 2013. In July 2014, Meaden was awarded an honorary degree from
Bath Spa University
Bath Spa University is a public university in Bath, England, with its main campus at Newton Park, about west of the centre of the city. The university has other campuses in the city of Bath, and one at Corsham Court in Wiltshire.
The instit ...