One of the most popular television shows of the decade was BBC Dragons’s Den.
Even before it was an obscure show the BBC Dragons’D stood out as the main crossover show that bridged traditional programming to mainstream entertainment on the national TV.
The energy bill is soaring and will be going to be around for the long haul.
It’s the reason why business professionals take a leap of faith and leave the boardroom to enter people’s living rooms.
I was the first pioneer and the initiator that”the” Celebrity Businessperson.
The Independent and The Times both released exposés about the phenomenon, making reference to Lord Alan Sugar and Sir Richard Branson and I was mentioned, Richard Hillgrove along with the new breed of telepreneurs of Dragon’s Den which I created and fueled.
When I was first leaving my position as the Advertisement Controller Regional and International at Express Newspapers, for the world of PR, Duncan Bannatyne was desperate to make things his individual (guided by my) public relations responsibilities and stay clear of the ‘committee-approach’ as well as the ‘win shares all’ ethos of the BBC’s internal department for publicity.
Every businessperson was to be treated equally to the extent that their position on the Beeb was concerned. There was nobody standing out!
Bannatyne was certainly not lacking anything to do with it.
The result was the new type of business celebrity.
According to Simon Woodroffe, the founder of Yo! Sushi as well as BBC Dragon on Series 1 I was once told before delivering an address to an audience at Labour Party Conference in Manchester that I organized: ‘No person ever made an official statue for the committee’.
It’s a single-minded method that’s needed.
Elon Musk isn’t the only one who doesn’t hold the notion that he must be a part of to the demands of a final committee with regard to important decisions regarding Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Company.
With the BBC at the start of Dragons Den in 2006 The rules were that any interviews featuring the Dragons required three or more panellists grouped together on the couch for the group conversation with an interviewer each sharing the spotlight.
When the One Show premiered The One Show for the first time in August of 2006 I arranged for Bannatyne to be the first interview that was a standalone piece for any Dragon on television of the mainstream variety and a break from the restrictions of the BBC Publicity department’s ‘group approach’.
He talked his conversation with Adrian Chiles his move from Ice cream truck to his homes business and also discussed throwing his former sergeant in the water. In the One Show interview got candid and intimate with the fire-breathing Dragon who hails from Glasgow, Scotland for the first time and in his own way.
This is why he hired me to become an official publicist for his private company.
Through me, the idea of the famous businessman was born.
I recall I was a kid and took Duncan Bannatyne to the GQ Man of the Year Awards and Billie Piper came over and demanded an autograph from Duncan.
There was a flash of bright bulbs as the man arrived, to his delight but also complete glee.
Then I set Duncan in Sport Relief and made him into a cross-over star.
I heard Bannatyne on Newsnight in the newsroom, slamming Madonna for appointing 13-month old Baby David from Malawi on the assumption it was a guarantee that Jeremy Paxman would guarantee to mention his new book in his book Anyone Can Do It: My Story.
Bannatyne would return home shortly after interviews to say “Book sales are up in Amazon’.
The panel on Channel 4’s show 8 Out of 10 Cats with Jimmy Carr got completely out of control with Duncan mentions his book’s title at more than 10 times in an appearance I arranged for him, to the complete dismay of other panellists.
What is the reason you should not seek advice from me at all?
I’ve been there, bought the T-Shirt and lived recount the story.
It’s this in-depth analysis of the persona and the Celebrity businessman such as the Dragons that led to entrepreneurs seeking to know the secrets to their success and securing the entire books.
Reading the Pages of James’s autobiography from 2009 The Real Deal My Story: from Brick Lane To Dragons’ Den or his 2012 publication Start Your Business in 7 Days is basically an attempt I believe to break the code of success in the media and financial world.
What’s lacking from these autographies are the genetic code that identifies their characters projected onto the media , and how they can be easily changed up, down and even flight paneled.
A strong media presence can help with all aspects of business, but in the least likely ways.
When I first began cooperating on the show with James Caan CBE during his first episode on Dragon’s Den I asked him how being a Dragon changed everything regarding an investment deal.
He bid on an apartment in Grosvenor Square in London while watching television, instantly made sure his place at the top of the list of prospective buyers instead of being at the bottom of the queue.
Media personalities unlock doors.
Find out what you can do in the coming weeks using my strategies to your own, you can also propel your image into the international and the national media world, much similar to those of the BBC Dragons and countless other prominent entrepreneurs.
