Slimming pill scammers have STOLEN my name and face

Former Dragons' Den star Sara Davies rages against fraudsters using her image to flog fake diet medications, reveals the REAL trick to looking so good and shares the secrets of her happy marriage

- By Alison James

WHATEVER former Dragons' Den tycoon and crafting entrepreneur Sara Davies is having, I want some. Even through the computer screen as we chat on Zoom her vitality, enthusiasm and energy are palpable. She looks great, too.

So healthy and happy. Heck, she's positively glowing. She's also in great shape. Would that be down to the weight loss pills she's been pictured extolling the virtues of on social media?

Her smile immediately turns into a frown — the frown of a fire-breathing Dragon, no less!

"No, it is not! Folks are forever coming up to me, saying, 'Oh those slimming pills must really work! You look great.' IT'S NOT THE PILLS," the 41-year-old rages. "The pills are bogus. It's a scam. My name and my image have been stolen."

Sara's former fellow Dragon, Deborah Meaden, is having the same problem, as is Money Saving Expert's Martin Lewis.

"Those pictures all over social media have absolutely nothing to do with me or Deborah nor with Dragons' Den," fumes Sara. "The 'ads' claim the supplements were pitched on the show and I invested, but it's complete rubbish. I don't even think the pics look like me. It's really upsetting.

"I've reported whoever sets these scams up to the BBC, I've spent thousands involving my own lawyers and the sites get taken down but it's like whack-a-mole. As fast as one bogus site closes down, another opens.

"The really upsetting thing is that I get messages from people who've been scammed, telling me they've sent off for 'my' diet pills but they never arrived or that they did arrive but they don't work. It's absolutely mortifying and I feel really bad about it.

"From my point of view, it's so frustrating that my image is being used and these false claims are being made, and it seems impossible to control."