Peter Jones continues to be one of the most popular Dragons’ Den stars or, at the very least, the richest – but he’s had more than his fair share of scandals over the years.
The billionaire, 57, is the longest serving Dragon, having been on the show ever since the very first series in 2005. Nearly 20 years later, the show – and Peter’s ever-expanding wallet – is still going strong.
But it’s not always been plain sailing for entrepreneur Peter. Now happily married with five children, he’s been through a painful divorce, been homeless, battled illness, and suffered a very public spat with former friend Holly Willoughby.
Here’s a reminder of all the scandals, heartbreaks, and tragedies to befall Bucks-born Peter Jones.
Peter Jones scandals and tragedies: Homeless and living in a warehouse
Dragons’ Den favourite Peter Jones is worth an estimated £1.276bn, according to the Sunday Times Rich List in 2023. But it wasn’t always this way. There was once a time when he was homeless.
During series 21 of the series, Peter shared a painful part of his past with those in the Den, and viewers watching from home. During episode 4, Peter was faced with a couple who were living in a static caravan with their two children as they tried to make their business profitable.
Becoming emotional, Peter Jones recalled the time when he was homeless. Talking to the founders of The Stone Age Company, Peter talks about the “terrible time” he “had nothing”. He said: “I know what it’s like to have nothing. I’ve slept in a warehouse, for a long time, with no money.
“Not even any existence. And then realisation set in. [I realised] I had to go and get a job because I had a family. It was a terrible time of my life, but I got through it. And then I started my own thing again. And, boy, my life changed immeasurably.”
Dragons’ Den star lost millions of pounds
Peter was forced to live on a warehouse floor after losing millions of pounds. He was just 28 when a serious judgement of error lost his his fortune.
Talking to Chris Evans on the Virgin Radio Breakfast show in 2019, he admitted that several big mistakes resulted in some serious consequences with his career.
He said: “The late twenties, I got a bit carried away. I made huge mistakes and then lost everything. I lost everything I had. People who owed me money, and didn’t pay me. International couriers which were massive, they were originally owned by BA, they went bust. And then, at 28, I literally just lost everything – cars, house, the whole lot.”
At the time, Peter was living at Martins Heron and described the situation as “devastating”. In a bitter twist of fate, he had been asked three years before if he needed any credit insurance. At the time, he didn’t think he needed it.
Peter added: “It was just naivety, I had to start again. So I went and got my first job at 28, trying to think what I am going to do, I’ve never worked for anybody, so I decided to go and write and send my CV off to everyone.”
Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis in fraud scam
Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis lost over £30K in a fraud scam, it was revealed in 2017. They were stung when one employee of their company went rogue.
The duo were scammed out of nearly £33,000 by their own accountant at their shared company Red Letter Days. Finance officer Akilan Selvathiravam, 34 at the time, admitted to scamming them out of money to fund his own gambling addiction.
The accountant’s job involved handling cash and cheques for the Dragons’ business. But he was eventually found to be forging cheques to pocket them for himself. Prosecutor Linda Shamel told Wood Green crown court: “He falsified cheques and signatures, claiming they were corporate refunds and then cashed them. There were a large number falsified. He admitted doing it because he had a gambling addiction.”
A source told The Sun at the time: “Peter and Theo are business giants known for their impeccable standards and ethics. They will be hugely embarrassed this happened at one of their companies.”
The accountant subsequently received a suspended prison sentence. He was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, ordered to perform 200 hours community service work and repay the entire sum.
Peter Jones scandals and tragedies: He divorced his first wife
Peter was previously married to ex-wife Caroline, with whom he has two children – Annabel and William.
When BBC One show Dragons’ Den first aired back in 2005, he was still married to his first wife. They wed in 1989, when Peter was just 21 years old.
However, they reportedly had a extremely messy divorce in 2008, which saw him end up sleeping on the floor of his office.
Peter went on to find happiness with long-term partner Tara Capp, with whom he has three teenage daughters, Natalie, Isabella and Tallulah.
His very awkward and public spat with former friend Holly Willougby
Peter Jones and Holly Willoughby suffered a very public fall out after previously being firm friends who holidayed together. After years of being close friends, Peter and Holly’s bust-up played out over the UK’s media in 2018.
It’s well documented that Peter suffered a “devastating” breakdown of relations with good friend Holly Willoughby. Peter’s partner Tara Capp had planned to set up Truly together with Holly, with Peter as chairman, in 2018.
But Holly dropped the bombshell she was withdrawing from the lucrative business venture at the last minute. Peter was reportedly furious when his close friend backtracked on their huge £11 million deal to launch Tara’s business.
The two families had been friends for more than 10 years, as Peter owned a 40% stake in Holly’s husband Dan Baldwin’s TV production company. Her last-minute decision to opt out of their collaboration was a major blow to Peter and Tara.
The This Morning presenter blew off the deal to focus on her ITV and Marks and Spencer contracts worth up to £1.5 million. To make matters worse, Holly’s business ventures went on to thrive, while Peter and Tara were left with a warehouse full of stock during Covid-19.
When asked about the friendship in 2021, Tara told the Telegraph: “Euggh. I’m not going to pretend. It was devastating. We were exceptionally close. And of course as a business, you really feel the loss of a celebrity face.”
The former friends have not been spotted together since. Holly fans will know she launched her own lifestyle brand Wylde Moon two years after pulling out of the venture with Peter and Tara.
Peter Jones scandals and tragedies: His health battles
The blue-suited Dragon also battled a health problem which left him fearing he was going to die.
In 2007, two years after making his debut on the show, Peter was struck by a serious case of pneumonia. The star opened up about battling the condition during an interview in 2010. He described it as the “worst illness” he’d ever had.
Speaking about the condition, Peter told the Mail Online: “Three years ago I had pneumonia. I had been working too hard and got a bit run-down. I got very, very wheezy and had trouble breathing – so much so that I thought I was going to die. So I was put on a course of antibiotics.”
Thankfully, the star is now more cautious when it comes to looking after his body. He now takes multivitamins, as well as Berocca – a vitamin C tablet.
However, at the time, he admitted he was a “social smoker”.
Read more: Dragons’ Den embroiled in ‘fakery’ row as entrepreneur claims bosses recruited her to take part
Watch Peter Jones on Dragons’ Den on Thursdays at 8pm on BBC One.
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