A former investor on the BBC show Dragons' Den has claimed that some contestants were treated unfairly and even subjected to what he described as "bullying" during their time on the programme. Richard Farleigh, who appeared as a Dragon during the show's third and fourth series in 2006 and 2007, recently shared his reflections on the experience in a LinkedIn post. He described the experience for contestants as "terrifying" and emphasized how it could be a defining moment in their business careers. Farleigh, an Australian-born investor, joined the show alongside Deborah Meaden, replacing other investors at the time. According to Farleigh, contestants were not allowed to see the set before filming, often walking into a room filled with five Dragons and around 20 production crew members. He said the Dragons had a significant advantage in the situation, as only about 10% of the recorded footage made it into the final broadcast. He suggested that the BBC might have been reluctant to show the Dragons in an unflattering light, while contestants had no such protection. Farleigh claimed that the Dragons sometimes over-criticized contestants to the point of ridicule, creating an imbalance where the investors had little to lose while the entrepreneurs had everything on the line. He recounted a specific incident in which a contestant was deeply upset after filming. The contestant allegedly told Farleigh that he had been told, "You're either stupid or dishonest, or probably both." The contestant shared that he had come from a care system and had hoped Farleigh would be the one to invest. Farleigh said he told the director that if that moment were shown on air, he would quit the show and publicly criticize it. Fortunately, the footage was not broadcast. Farleigh clarified that his criticism did not apply to every appearance on the show, stating that in most cases, the programme was fair to contestants. He also expressed that he enjoyed working with the BBC. The BBC has not responded to his claims. Dragons' Den remains a popular programme where business owners pitch their ideas to a panel of investors in the hope of securing funding in exchange for a share of their company.