Martyn Smith is a British television producer noted for creating the original UK series of the hit BBC series '' Dragons' Den'' based on the original Japanese format.

Dragon's den

Smith produced and directed a pilot for the British version of Dragon's Den for the BBC after the corporation took an option on the format which was created by Nippon TV in Japan. In Japan, the show was a cult late-night series where young businessmen and women would ask for money from five rich individuals. However, the 'Dragons' in Japan usually handed over money as a gift and rarely took an equity position in the companies of those asking for money. The Japanese show was created when Nippon TV asked in-house producers to come up with low-budget ideas. The clever twist of asking the 'Dragons' to invest their own money in fledgling businesses kept costs low. The series was filmed in an office at Nippon TV headquarters for the same reason. The UK pilot and first series were filmed at a warehouse space in North London. The original 'Dragons' were Duncan Bannatyne,

Doug Richard Doug Richard (born 6 May 1958) is an American entrepreneur best known for his television appearances in the United Kingdom. He appeared as a "Dragon" on the first two series of ''Dragons' Den'' and was also a government adviser. Education Rich ...

, Peter Jones, Rachel Elnaugh and

Simon Woodroffe Simon Woodroffe (born 14 February 1952) is an English motivational speaker and entrepreneur. He started the sushi chain YO! Sushi in 1997, and appeared as a "Dragon" on the first UK series of Dragons' Den. Woodroffe conceived and launched YO! S ...

. Initially, a one-hour pilot was made which was commissioned by BBC2 as a six-part series. Smith was credited as 'Series Editor' on the original series and also directed the series.

Awards

Smith won a

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

award as Series Producer on the second series of '' The Apprentice'' in 2007 and was nominated for a BAFTA for the same series in 2007.BAFTA Television nominations
at bafta.org He series produced the second series of '' Mary, Queen of Shops'' which was nominated for an RTS Award in 2009.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British television producers {{UK-tv-bio-stub