Dragons’ Den bosses asked me to be on the show but the experience left me in a dark place reveals entrepreneur
A DRAGONS’ Den star has revealed the show left him in a dark place after bosses asked him on.
The latest episode of the hit BBC One business series aired on Thursday night.
During the show viewers watched as Abeer Ibqal entered the den with looking for investment.
The company, called Remy, sells items to aide sleeping such as bean bags.
However, it failed to garner the interest of Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Peter Jones, Sara Davies and Steven Bartlett.
Despite not getting an investment from the dragons, Abeer was offered a job by Peter.
However, he’s now revealed the experience left him with mental health problems.
Speaking about his time on Dragons’ Den, the entrepreneur said: “After the pitch I was in a dark place, to be honest, and the next morning I was dreading going back to where not the best memories were made.”
He continued to the Express: “As I was packing my car with all this stuff, the Dragons were coming in to shoot that morning and both Touker and Peter saw me and they walked up to me, next to my car and we had a really kind of off-the-record conversation.
“You never know if what the Dragons are saying, if it’s for TV or if it’s really how they feel about you and how they feel about the brand.
“This was kind of behind the camera and we were just out there having a conversation and Peter said, ‘I was being real when I said you should come join me in my eCommerce company’. And then Toucker said we should connect. So it was really nice closure.”
Dragons' Den stars - past and present
Dragons' Den has been on our screens since 2005 and sees entrepreneurs enter the Den to try and win investment for their businesses from the Dragons.
Over the years there have been many wealthy investors sitting in the famous seats, here’s a rundown of them all and how long they were on the show for.
- Peter Jones – series 1 – present
- Deborah Meaden – series 3 – present
- Touker Suleyman – series 13 – present
- Sara Davies – series 17 – present
- Steven Bartlett – series 19 – present
- Duncan Bannatyne – series 1 – 12
- Rachel Elnaugh – series 1 and 2
- Doug Richard – series 1 and 2
- Simon Woodroffe – series 1
- Theo Paphitis – series 2 -10
- Richard Farleigh – series 3 and 4
- James Caan – series 5-8
- Hilary Devey – series 9 and 10
- Kelly Hoppen – series 11 and 12
- Piers Linney – series 11 and 12
- Nick Jenkins – series 13 and 14
- Sarah Willingham – series 13 and 14
- Jenny Campbell – series 15 and 16
- Tej Lalvani – series 15 – 18
- Emma Grede and Gary Neville were guest Dragons during series 21.
Meanwhile, The Sun recently revealed how Beeb execs are planning to overhaul the show.
Bosses are looking at bringing in fresh blood for next year’s series.
It follows the arrival of young tycoon Steven Bartlett and Gary Neville’s guest appearance being hailed as a breath of fresh air.