I was on Dragons’ Den and was shocked by what BBC bosses put us through behind the scenes
DRAGON'S Den is one of the longest-running shows on the BBC, and has brought us endless entertainment over the years.
Fans love to watch as hopeful entrepreneurs head into the Den hoping to impress the five Dragons.
The show has had endless big names on its lineup, but current its Dragons are Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies and newcomer Steven Bartlett.
It doesn't take a genius to guess that appearing on the show can be quite nerve-wracking.
From inexperienced hopefuls to those who already run successful businesses, the Den has been known to crack and crumble even the most confident of pitchers.
But what is it like to actually be on the show?
Zain Peer, the co-founder of coffee brand London Nootropics, appeared on the show earlier this year.
He revealed that viewers at home only see a fraction of the pitch, and it takes so much longer than you'd think.
Admitting he was full of adrenaline whilst pitching to the Dragons, he said: "We were in there for about an hour and a half.
"It felt like 10 minutes, honestly. Literally minutes."
Businessman Rutget Bruining, who also appeared on the show with his co-founded book brand StoryTerrace, also revealed the pitch took hours.
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He stated that whilst the pitch "wasn't as scary" as people would assume, it is "quite different".
Rutger explained: "You’re there for over an hour, they talk a lot more than you realise.
"It’s because they’re talking and thinking at the same time, especially Peter Jones."
He continued: "He spoke 10 times more than I did to answer his questions! Sometimes I wasn’t sure where he was going.
"I think he was just deciding what he thought about what he wanted to ask when he was doing it while he was talking.
"So that was quite different."
