It was already known that Hilary Devey had done her stint in the Den and was moving on to pastures new.
However, it was a bit of a surprise at the end of last week to hear that Theo Paphitis had traded in his place among the second-best five-piece after Take That to spend more time on his business investments.
So the debate among Dragons’ Den fans is who will join Duncan Bannatyne, Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden in their famous warehouse?
The only people likely to want to go onto Dragons’ Den are those who for some reason want to be famous or more famous than they already are, which is exactly why the likes of Virgin boss Richard Branson, my old ‘mate’ Sir Lord Sugar or even myself, wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole.
They just ain’t going to be interested!
Tell you what though; I’ve got a good idea – how about a revolving seat for the chief executives of our major banking institutions?
One week in four the ‘guest Dragon’ could be, in strict rotation, either: Stephen Hester (RBS), Antonio Horta Osario (Lloyds TSB), Antony Jenkins (Barclays), and Stuart Gulliver (HSBC).
This way these public pariahs could get the exposure they need so that the British public could fall in love with them all over again, and stop saying nasty things about them.
And what better way to prove that the banks really do want to lend money to small businesses, is by going on weekly television and doing just that?
There might be some added benefit also in this project, in that these bonus absorbing islands of impunity might just have to meet some real businessmen and women, and in doing so they might again understand what it’s like to meet traders who are not consulting them on the best ways to minimise their tax liability.
People who are trying to put something back into this country, not shovel it offshore as stealthily as possible.
It’s just a thought, but it might make for some very interesting viewing!
