Dragons’ Den star and ex-York University business student Sara Davies on the show's latest season

In that time, almost 1,500 businesses and 1,990 entrepreneurs have entered the Den.

And it seems there are plenty more lining up for investment with series 21 – during which there is £2.3 million worth of pledges of investment – set to air on BBC One in 2024.

Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies, and Steven Bartlett will be joined by Gary Neville and Emma Grede as the first ever Guest Dragons.

Davies, though, has links to Yorkshire. The County Durham-born entrepreneur started her own crafting supply company, Crafter’s Companion, while she was studying business at York University, and launched The Enveloper, a bespoke envelope for handmade cards which set her on the road to millions.

You started your own business when you were a student, how can today’s young entrepreneurs hit the ground running?

“Well we’ve had our fair share of young entrepreneurs come through the Den doors too haven’t we! I think being an entrepreneur is a mindset, and as long as you have enough drive, determination and heaps of passion, then you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.”

What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs in the current economic climate?

“My top bits of advice for entrepreneurs would be to learn from your failures, diversify your business as much as you can, look out for great people to join you and finally, have faith in yourself.”

To date, there have been 415 pledges of investment in the Den. What kind of businesses are you looking for?

“I always tend to go for a business I can get excited about and more often than not it’s a great entrepreneur who can do that for me.

"If you have a mediocre product but a phenomenal entrepreneur with passion in abundance and lots of business acumen, then you’re going to want to work with them because you know that they’re going to put their heart and soul into it and be great to work with.

“However, you could have an exceptional product or service but if the entrepreneur just isn’t cutting it, it would put me off parting ways with my money.”

Why do you think people still enjoy the show?

“As I said before, people love Dragons’ Den because it has managed to stay fresh and interesting after so many years.

“I also think it’s a great way to pick up some valuable learnings both from the dragons and the entrepreneurs themselves. I used to love watching the show in my uni days because you’d just get pearls of wisdom from these top businesspeople.

“I think that there’s a different generation of entrepreneurs or people wanting to take the plunge in starting their own business watching the show today probably getting some good insight into what running your own company entails."

Dragons are known for being strong and fierce, do you think strength is the most important trait for a business person?

"I think strength is really important because running your own business is no easy task. People often think that someone who works for themselves must have it easy because they’re able to choose their own hours but the reality is that the entrepreneur is probably working 12-plus hour days to make it work and might even be trying to fit it around their regular nine to five job.

“I also think that humility is a really important trait for a businessperson. As an entrepreneur, you have to admit your failings and know when to ask for help because being too proud to admit you’ve made a mistake can make or break your business.”