I was on Dragons’ Den – we had a secret rehearsal with ‘fake dragons’ and I was left shocked by BBC set
A DRAGONS’ Den star has spilled all on the behind the scenes secrets from the hit TV show after managing to strike it lucky with two of the show’s panelists.
Matt Kennedy, the Founder and CEO of natural deodorant company Fussy, was left over the moon when his sustainability-focused business managed to land a huge deal with both Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones on the BBC programme back in 2022.
The entrepreneur, and his business partner at the time, managed to haggle the perfect deal which saw 5% split between Deborah and Peter for a cool £50,000 for the refillable single-use plastic deodorants they had created.
Many fans will remember Matt’s memorable pitch when he burst out of a wheelie bin – much to the surprise of the business panel.
With the business still going strong, and an exciting new promotional campaign having just launched, Matt has now shared what it was really like behind the scenes of the hit BBC show.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Matt admitted that before heading into the infamous Den to face a grilling from the business titans, he and his business partner were forced to do a practice run-through in front of a set of ‘fake dragons’.
Matt recalled: “We did have a big rehearsal beforehand but that was what we expected.
“But it wasn’t with the Dragons.”
Instead, Matt explained that five members of the production crew stood in for them and that they did not come face-to-face with the real Dragons until the cameras were rolling.
Revealing the eventual discussion with the dragons took a whopping TWO HOURS, Matt said: “Although it is only on screens for 10 minutes in the end, the process is really real.
“It is not like ‘pause, do this’, – it is literally two hours of questioning and pitching like a real investor pitch.
“It’s not made for TV in the sense that it is not scripted, whereas I can imagine some other shows, like The Apprentice, are.”
However, there was one ‘fake’ thing about the process which Matt jokingly admitted left him feeling “outraged”.
The businessman said: “The only thing that wasn’t real that really shocked me was the lift.
“I was outraged, I couldn’t believe it.
“I was convinced that it was a real lift.”
Matt and the Fussy brand have become one of Dragons’ Den‘s biggest success stories with both Deborah and Peter still being involved in the business to this day.
However, it is champion for all things green and sustainability Deborah who remains the most active in the company.
Matt told The Sun: “Peter is still involved but he’s not as active in the business as Deborah.
“I think for Deborah – this is such a key part of her personal brand to be associated with sustainability.
She has even thrown her support towards Fussy once again by making a cameo in their brand new television advert focused around a classic 90s rap battle.
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.
He revealed that Deborah was “really up for” being a part of the rap music video despite it being quite far removed from her usual public endeavors.
Matt said: “She was really up for it and she is always a really good sport.
“I’ll just drop her an email or a WhatsApp and be like ‘I’ve got this really crazy idea’ and she will always give us the time of day.
“She’s really busy but she will always still come, even if it is just for ten minutes or so.