'I Don't Have Gold Taps!'

- Ian Macewan

Straight-talking Deborah Meaden has been the doyenne of BBC2’s Dragons’ Den since 2006, but her enthusiasm for quizzing budding entrepreneurs shows no sign of waning as TV Times catches up with her ahead of the new series.

Pitches this week include a device that protects children from air pollution and a musical gift service idea that prompts Deborah to burst into song and Tej Lalvani to give his fellow Dragons a rendition of the Oasis hit Wonderwall on the guitar!

‘I think we all fell a little bit in love with Tej then,’ smiles Deborah, 59. ‘I do a mean imitation of Edith Piaf ’s Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien. When it all gets a bit too serious, I use that as my ice-breaker!’

Viewers who saw Deborah on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 will be familiar with that very different, much softer side. So we thought we’d see if we could bring out the fun Deborah by pitching her a few questions about her life away from the Den…