Will Dragons Den return for series 19?
LONG-RUNNING business show Dragons' Den has been a hit with viewers since it first aired in 2015. The show is currently wrapping up its eighteenth series, and fans are already looking forward to new installment. Dragons' Den has been officially renewed for a series 19. Filming will start for the new series this summer. The final episode of Dragons' Den will return on Thursday, July 1 at 9pm  The hit entrepreneur show moved to BBC One for its eighteenth series and will remain on the channel for its next outing. 4 Tej Lalvani will be leaving the panel of Dragons Credit: BBC  In May 2021 it was announced that from Series 19 Tej Lalvani was to be replaced by entrepreneur Steven Bartlett. Bartlett is the founder and former CEO of social media marketing agency The Social Chain. He is also the host of top charting podcast, The Diary of a CEO. He said about joining the show: Ive been watching Dragons Den since I was 12 years old - it was my first window into the real world of business and investing. Its a tremendous honour to join the Den, hopefully representing a new generation of entrepreneurs, inspiring young and specifically under-represented entrepreneurs to follow in my footsteps.  He will be appearing alongside Deborah Meaden, Sara Davies, Peter Jones and Touker Suleyman. 4 Tej Lalvani will be replaced by entrepreneur Steven Bartlett Credit: PA  Sarah Clay, the BBCs Commissioning Editor for Entertainment said: Despite the additional production challenges Covid-19 posed, this new series is one of the most tense and competitive yet. "Well be very sorry to see Tej go as hes one of the shrewdest and coolest Dragons ever to grace the Den and I want to thank him for his enormous contributions, both personally and professionally to the series. "As audiences will see, he certainly leaves the show on a high and we wish him continued success.  The final episode of Dragons' Den series 18 will air on July 8, 2021. The eighteenth series of the series saw the dragons pledge a record-breaking 2.1 million on new businesses  an increase of almost 10 per cent on the previous best. The new series is expected to be hosted, as usual, by Evan Davis. To date, there have been a whopping 182 episodes over the past 17 series. The format of the series was developed from the Japanese show Money Tigers, which aired from 2001 to 2004. Versions of the series have been produced in numerous countries.