Deborah Meaden

Last updated

Deborah Meaden
Deborah Meaden (cropped).jpg
Meaden after a BBC's Dragons' Den appearance, 2011
Born
Deborah Sonia Charles

(1959-02-11) 11 February 1959 (age 65)
Taunton, Somerset, England
NationalityBritish
EducationTrowbridge High School
Alma mater Brighton Technical College
OccupationBusinesswoman
Known for
Spouse
Paul Farmer
​
(m. 1993)​
Website deborahmeaden.com

Deborah Sonia Meaden FRSA (born 11 February 1959) [1] [2] is a British businessperson and TV personality who ran a multimillion-pound family holiday business, before completing a management buyout. She is best known for her appearances as a 'Dragon' on the BBC business programme Dragons' Den . [3]

Contents

Early life

Meaden was born Deborah Sonia Charles in Taunton, Somerset. [2] Her parents divorced when she was young, and her mother moved Deborah and her older sister Gail to Brightlingsea in Essex. When Meaden was 7 years old, her mother married Brian Meaden who became "a true father" to Meaden. [4] Meaden went to the Godolphin School, Salisbury, for a brief period and then to Trowbridge High School for Girls (now The John of Gaunt School) which she left at the age of 16. [4]

Career

On leaving school, Meaden studied business at Brighton Technical College, after which she worked as a sales-room model in a fashion house. [5] 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. [5] The company failed after 18 months.[ citation needed ]

Meaden and a partner bought one of the first Stefanel textile franchises in the UK, which was based in the West Country; she sold out two years later to her partner for £10,000.[ citation needed ] She then had several successful leisure and retail businesses, including a spell operating a Prize Bingo at Butlins in Minehead.

In 1988, Meaden joined her family's business to run its amusement arcade operations and in 1992, joined Weststar Holidays, a family holiday park operator based in Exeter, Devon, with its major sites in South West England. 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 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, [6] and, in August 2007, her remaining stake of 23% [7] in Weststar Holidays was liquidated when the firm was sold to Alchemy Partners for £83 million, valuing her stake at about £19 million. [8]

In 2009, Meaden acquired Fox Brothers (a West Country textile mill established in 1772 and still based in Wellington, Somerset) along with fellow shareholder, Douglas Cordeaux, former design director at Pepe Jeans London. [9] She was also involved in a collaboration with BBC conductor Charles Hazlewood, 'Play the Field', a weekend of classical music on Charles's farm in Somerset over the August bank holiday weekend 2009. [10] 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. [11] [12]

Television

Dragons' Den

Meaden is known for her appearances as an investor ('dragon') on the BBC Two series Dragons' Den , [13] where she took over from Rachel Elnaugh 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 to replace James Caan. As of 2021, she has agreed investments through this route in 63 businesses to a value of over £3.3 million. [14] [ failed verification ]

Strictly Come Dancing

Meaden took part in the eleventh series of the BBC One dancing show Strictly Come Dancing , which began on 7 September 2013 and was partnered with professional dancer Robin Windsor. [15] [16] [17] [18] She was eliminated from the show on 26 October.

Week #Dance/SongJudges' scoresResult
Craig Revel Horwood Darcey Bussell Len Goodman Bruno Tonioli Total
1Tango / "Money, Money, Money"666624Safe
2Cha-Cha-Cha / "Respect"576624Safe
3Quickstep / "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher"777728Safe
4Jive / "Making Your Mind Up"566623Safe
5Viennese Waltz / "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"677727Eliminated

Other appearances

Radio

Meaden co-presents The Big Green Money Show for BBC Radio 5 live, alongside Felicity Hannah. The series of weekly episodes began in March 2022 and covers actions being taken by businesses and individuals in response to climate change. [21]

Books

Meaden published Common Sense Rules in May 2009. She used a ghostwriting service, Professional Ghost, to complete the project. [22] In 2023, she published Why Money Matters, aimed at six to nine year olds, illustrated by Hao Hao. The following year, Deborah Meaden Talks Money was aimed at young adults.

Other work

In November 2009, Meaden featured in a short film to promote Somerset to businesses, commissioned by Into Somerset, [23] having previously recorded two other short films for the inward investment agency in February of that year. [24]

Meaden is a member of the Council of Ambassadors of the World Wildlife Fund. [25]

She works with the Dogs Trust charity and is an ambassador for the Marine Conservation Society. [26]

Meaden is an ambassador for the National Foundation for Retired Service Animals, a charity launched in 2022 that supports dogs and horses after they are retired from work with the police, fire, prison and border force services. [27]

She became an ambassador for the Tusk Trust in 2010, and joined that organisation's board of trustees in 2016. [28]

Personal life

Meaden met her husband, Paul Farmer, in the summer of 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 don't have children and live in a period property near Langport 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. [29] [30]

Meaden has listed her favourite film as The Shawshank Redemption , her favourite holiday destination as Central and South America and her favourite sport as rugby union. [31] In October 2020, Meaden adopted a plant-based diet. [32] In politics, she endorsed the Liberal Democrats in 2019 and has endorsed Labour in 2024. [33] [34]

In August 2022, Meaden revealed that she had been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, in 2015, after her makeup artist noticed a suspicious small spot on her face around six weeks prior to her diagnosis. [35]

Honours

In July 2010, Meaden was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Exeter Business School. [36] She also received an honorary degree from Staffordshire University in the same month. [37] She was given an honorary degree at Keele University in July 2013. [38] In July 2014, Meaden was awarded an honorary degree from Bath Spa University.

At some point she was granted fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts. [39]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Widdecombe</span> British politician and media personality (born 1947)

Ann Noreen Widdecombe is a British politician and television personality who has been Reform UK's Immigration and Justice spokesperson since 2023. Originally a member of the Conservative Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Maidstone and The Weald, and the former Maidstone constituency, from 1987 to 2010. She was a member of the Brexit Party from 2019 until it was renamed Reform UK in 2021, and served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England from 2019 to 2020; she rejoined Reform UK in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angela Rippon</span> English television presenter (born 1944)

Angela May Rippon is an English broadcaster, former newsreader, writer and journalist.

<i>Strictly Come Dancing</i> British television series

Strictly Come Dancing 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 judges. The title of the show is a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing. The format has been exported to 60 other countries under the title Dancing with the Stars, licensed by BBC Worldwide, and led to a modern dance-themed spin-off Strictly Dance Fever. The Guinness World Records named Strictly as the world's most successful reality television format in 2010. The series is currently presented by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. Bruce Forsyth co-presented the series with Daly until 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kara Tointon</span> English actress (b. 1983)

Kara Louise Tointon is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Dawn Swann in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. In 2010, she won the BBC competition series Strictly Come Dancing, and in 2015, she appeared as Maria in the ITV live production of The Sound of Music Live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Elnaugh</span> British entrepreneur

Rachel Elnaugh is a former 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 reality TV show Dragons' Den.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Richard</span> American entrepreneur based in England

Doug Richard 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susanna Reid</span> English television presenter (born 1970)

Susanna Reid is an English television presenter and journalist. She was a co-presenter of BBC Breakfast from 2001 until 2014 alongside Bill Turnbull and Charlie Stayt. In 2013, she finished as a runner-up on the eleventh series of Strictly Come Dancing alongside dance-partner Kevin Clifton. Since 2014, Reid has been the lead presenter of the ITV Breakfast programme Good Morning Britain alongside Kate Garraway, Richard Madeley, Ed Balls and formerly Piers Morgan and Ben Shephard. She also presented Sunday Morning Live on BBC One from 2010 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlene Dickinson</span> South African Canadian businesswoman (born 1956)

Arlene Dickinson is a South African Canadian businesswoman, investor, author, and television personality. She is the general partner of District Ventures Capital and CEO of Venturepark. Dickinson joined the cast of the CBC business reality show Dragons' Den during its second season in 2007 and departed in the ninth season in 2015. She then returned to continue with the Dragons for the 12th season in 2017. She was selected to perform on the series after she won numerous awards, including Calgary Business Owner of the Year, PROFIT magazine's Top 100 Women Business Owners, the Pinnacle Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence, Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards and Canada's Most Powerful Women Top 100. The show describes her as a self-made multi-millionaire.

<i>Dragons Den</i> (British TV programme) British reality television series

Dragons' Den is a British reality television business programme, presented by Evan Davis and based upon the original Japanese series. The show allows several entrepreneurs an opportunity to present their varying business ideas to a panel of five wealthy investors, the "Dragons" of the show's title, and pitch for financial investment while offering a stake of the company in return.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Skelton</span> English TV presenter (born 1983)

Helen Elizabeth Skelton is an English television presenter. She co-presented the BBC children's programme Blue Peter from 2008 until 2013, and since 2014 has been a presenter on Countryfile. She co-presented two series of the BBC One programme Holiday Hit Squad alongside Angela Rippon and Joe Crowley. She also presented the daytime series The Instant Gardener that ran for two series.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Jones (entrepreneur)</span> English billionaire businessman (born 1966)

Peter David Jones is an English entrepreneur, businessman, investor, and reality television personality, with interests in mobile phones, television, media, leisure, retail, and property. He is the last remaining original investor on the BBC One series Dragons' Den, and has appeared on other television programmes with similar formats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox Brothers</span>

Fox Brothers & Co is a clothmaker based in Wellington, Somerset, England. The company is one of the few working cloth mills still producing cloth entirely in England since 1772, although the present company was incorporated in 1996.

Hilary Lorraine Devey CBE 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 Intern.

Robin Jamie Windsor was an English professional Latin and ballroom dancer, best known for appearing as a professional dancer on the BBC television series Strictly Come Dancing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick van der Vorst</span>

Patrick Van Der Vorst, is a Belgian-British priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster and former entrepreneur, dealer, art expert and winner on BBC's Dragons Den.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Daykin</span> British businessman

Jordan Daykin, is a British businessman and entrepreneur. He is best known for his 2014 appearance on the BBC Two business programme Dragons' Den, where he became the youngest and most successful entrepreneur to win investment when he secured £80,000 from Deborah Meaden for his plasterboard fixing invention. He was called "One of Britain's Leading Young Entrepreneurs" on City A.M.'s list of 100 Most Powerful Entrepreneurs in the UK in March 2016.

Juliette Suzanne Thomas is a British businesswoman and interior designer most known for her TV appearances on BBC programme Dragons' Den, and Channel 4 programme Millionaires' Mansions. Thomas is the founder and owner of the eponymous interior business, Juliette's Interiors.

Sara Davies is a British businesswoman, entrepreneur, and television personality. She is the founder and owner of Crafter's Companion, a company she started while a student at the University of York. In April 2019 it was announced that she would join the panel of the BBC television programme Dragons' Den for its seventeenth series, replacing Jenny Campbell who decided to leave the programme in early 2019. In 2021, Davies was appointed the North East Ambassador for Smart Works Newcastle, a charity supporting unemployed women into work through clothing and coaching. In July 2024, Davies was appointed Chief Inspiration Officer for Avon UK.

References

  1. ↑ Deborah Meaden [@deborahmeaden] (11 February 2021). "... it has indeed been (in reply to a Happy Birthday message)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. 1 2 Hasan, Mehdi (6 January 2011). "The NS Interview: Deborah Meaden, Dragons' Den panellist". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 17 September 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  3. ↑ "My Bottom Line: entrepreneur Deborah Meaden". BBC News. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Deborah Meaden talks about her Brightlingsea childhood". Great British Life. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Vicky Frost Meets Deborah Meaden". The Guardian. London. 28 August 2006. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  6. ↑ "Deborah Meaden – profile". BBC Dragons' Den. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  7. ↑ "Deborah Meaden – WWF UK". wwf.org.uk. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  8. ↑ "Deborah Meaden and family". Sunday Times Rich List 2008. London: The Sunday Times. 27 April 2008. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  9. ↑ Keens, Emma (16 January 2010). "I'm in: Dragon Meaden buys Fox Brothers". The Times. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  10. ↑ "Play the field site". Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  11. ↑ Dragons' Den star in planning row Archived 4 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine . BBC News (4 September 2009). Retrieved on 4 January 2012.
  12. ↑ Planning inspector blasts TV Dragon Meaden Archived 5 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine . Thisissouthdevon.co.uk (4 September 2009). Retrieved on 4 January 2012.
  13. ↑ "Question time with Hannah Pool: Dragons' Den's Deborah Meaden on why she can't stand bullshit". The Guardian. London. 22 November 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  14. ↑ "Deborah Meaden Dragons' Den investor official website". www.deborahmeaden.com. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  15. ↑ Plunkett, John (2 September 2013). "Strictly Come Dancing 2013 contestants unveiled | Television & radio". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  16. ↑ "Strictly Come Dancing 2013 full lineup: Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Ben Cohen – Strictly Come Dancing News – Reality TV". Digital Spy. 2 September 2013. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  17. ↑ "Strictly Come Dancing Deborah Meaden: 'Criticism must be constructive' – Strictly Come Dancing News – Reality TV". Digital Spy. 2 September 2013. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  18. ↑ "BBC One – Strictly Come Dancing – Deborah Meaden". Bbc.co.uk. 1 January 1970. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  19. ↑ Grace, Steve. "BBC – The Speaker – Conviction: How to deliver a speech with conviction". Archived from the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  20. ↑ "Kevin Pietersen: Beast of Man, Episode 8, Champagne". 14 June 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  21. ↑ "The Big Green Money Show". BBC Radio 5 Live. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  22. ↑ "Previous Work and Testimonials". Professional Ghost. Archived from the original on 24 August 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  23. ↑ "Credit Crunch". BBC. Archived from the original on 10 July 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  24. ↑ Into Somerset video gallery Archived 13 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine  – Into Somerset website
  25. ↑ "Deborah Meaden". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  26. ↑ "Marine-conservation-society". www.deborahmeaden.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  27. ↑ "Ambassadors". NFRSA. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  28. ↑ "Tusk Board & Advisors". Tusk Trust. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  29. ↑ McBride, Lorraine (12 January 2014). "Deborah Meaden: 'I was selling flowers at the age of seven'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  30. ↑ Clarke, Hayley; Bevan, Nathan; Colderick, Stephanie (13 January 2023). "Deborah Meaden's incredible farmhouse and her husband of 28 years". WalesOnline. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  31. ↑ "BBC – BBC Two Programmes – Dragons' Den – Deborah Meaden". Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  32. ↑ @DeborahMeaden (18 October 2020). "And as if by magic... ta da !! I have..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  33. ↑ "Dan Snow and Deborah Meaden back the Lib Dems". Liberal Democrat Voice. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  34. ↑ Labour Party (8 June 2024). Deborah Meaden backs Keir Starmer's plans to support Britain's entrepreneurs . Retrieved 9 June 2024– via YouTube.
  35. ↑ Adejobi, Alicia (8 August 2022). "Dragons' Den legend Deborah Meaden reveals that she "ignored" white spot before being diagnosed with skin cancer and urges others to take signs seriously". Metro . Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  36. ↑ "Honorary graduates 2010–11 Deborah Meaden (LLD)". University of Exeter. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  37. ↑ Staffordshire University announces 2010 honours list Archived 28 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine . Staffs.ac.uk. Retrieved on 4 January 2012.
  38. ↑ "Keele Honorary Degrees Summer 2013". Keele University. Archived from the original on 15 January 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  39. ↑ "50 Famous Fellows - RSA Journal". The RSA. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.