The BBC has announced that 28-year-old entrepreneur and Sunday Times best-selling author Steven Bartlett is set to join current Dragons Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman and Sara Davies for the 19th series of Dragons’ Den.

Bartlett is founder and former CEO of social media marketing agency The Social Chain which he set up from a bedroom in Manchester. He dropped out of university and built the group’s two flagship companies, Social Chain and Media Chain, when he was just 22 years old before taking his company public at 27, with a current market valuation of over £300m.

He begins filming in the Den this summer for the 19th series of the entrepreneurial TV hit, which is currently in the middle of its 18th series run and debut on BBC One.

Racking up accolades such as Forbes 30 under 30 and the Entrepreneur Rising Star at the Black British Business Awards, Bartlett found himself being inducted into Manchester’s Hall of Fame by the Mayor of Greater Manchester in 2019. As well as finding time to become a best-selling author with the release of his recent debut book Happy Sexy Millionaire, he also acts as a speaker, investor and content creator - and hosts a top charting podcast, The Diary of a CEO.

Sarah Clay, the BBC’s Commissioning Editor of Entertainment says: “As well as being our youngest ever Dragon, Steven’s unique approach to business will bring a whole new dynamic to the Den. He brings a wealth of experience from the social media, technological and brand building worlds. I’m so excited to see him in the next series.”

Steven Bartlett says: “I’ve been watching Dragons’ Den since I was 12 years old - it was my first window into the real world of business and investing. It’s 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.”

Chi Ukairo, Dragons’ Den Executive Producer, BBC Studios added: “Steven is a great addition to the Den and we are all looking forward to seeing him in action when we start filming this summer.”

Applications are open for the next series of Dragons’ Den, please apply BELOW.

Dragons’ Den is a BBC Studios production. The Executive Producer is Chi Ukairo, the Series Editor is Samantha Davies and the Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Sarah Clay.

The current series of Dragons’ Den with Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Tej Lalvani and Sara Davies is on Thursdays at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.