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Anorak News | Red Letter Daze

Red Letter Daze

by | 2nd, August 2005

‘ANYONE who has ever watched BBC2’s Dragons’ Den, the programme in which would-be entrepreneurs are patronised by smug millionaires, will know Rachel Elnaugh.

‘You’re not having any of my money, so there!’

She’s the one who sits on the end and tells the inventor of a new umbrella for dogs that she’s not going to invest in his company “because I don’t like you” or “because your nose is too big” or “because your shirt is too red”.

The truth, however, is that Miss Elnaugh isn’t going to be investing in anyone’s company anytime soon because her own company Red Letter Days has gone belly-up.

The Mail says hundreds of people have been told that their ‘dream’ trips and days out have been cancelled after the firm collapsed with debts of £12m.

As well as “a humiliating blow” and “the ultimate come-uppance” for Rachel, the paper says news is “an embarrassment for the BBC”.

“The corporation’s Dragons’ Den website,” it says, “lauds her company as ‘a model for a new wave of British entrepreneurs’.”

The 40-year-old has even had to resort to pitching the concern to Peter Jones, the founder of a £300m telecoms business and one of her unbearably smug fellow panellists on the show.

His response?

“Good luck, mate, because you’re going to need it. That’s the most ridiculous business idea I’ve ever heard. Look, I’ve got a lot more money than you…”’



Posted: 2nd, August 2005 | In: Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink