Dragons’ Den has been hit with a fakery row amid accusations that an entrepreneur has been selling snake oil.
The entrepreneur in question, 31-year-old Giselle Boxer, has since claimed bosses “recruited” her to appear on the show.
Dragons’ Den fakery row
Boxer from Sheffield appeared on Dragons’ Den last week. She asked the Dragons for £50,000 and a 10% stake in her business selling ear-seeds.
She claimed that the ear seeds cured her of myalgic encephalomyelitis – also known as chronic fatigue syndrome.
Following the show’s broadcast, several doctors and ME sufferers hit out at the BBC and Boxer’s business, Acu Seeds. They accused the BBC and Boxer of promoting an alternative medicine with no scientific evidence that it can even help with ME or fatigue.
Users on TikTok accused Boxer of selling “snake oil”- a term used to describe deceptive marketing or a scam.
“They [sufferers of ME] are fed up with the way in which unproven and expensive treatments are regularly being promoted to them,” the ME association said in response to the episode.
“This programme has therefore caused a great deal of upset and anger in the ME/CFS [Chronic Fatigue Syndrome] patient community.”
Dragons’ Den entrepreneur hits back
Now, Boxer has hit back.
“Funnily enough they [Dragons’ Den] contacted me and I received an email from a researcher there and I initially thought it was a spam email,” she alleged to The Mirror.
“We went through the different stages of the application process and there was so much due diligence and they really looked into every part of my business before I went in to pitch to the Dragons,” she then claimed.
She also said that she never said that the ear seeds are a “cure” for ME. “I have always said ME is a complex condition and that a combination of healing approaches is what I believed supported my recovery,” she said.
ME association hits out
To add further fuel to the fire, Steven Barlett, who agreed to a £50,000 plus 12.5% stake in the business, isn’t named as a company director.
However, his brother, Jason, is.
Companies House, the government register, shows that Jason Barlett was appointed as a Director of the company on January 19, 2024. This was the day after Boxer’s episode of the show aired.
In a statement, the BBC told us: “A BBC spokesperson said: “Dragons’ Den features products from entrepreneurs and is not an endorsement of them. Dragons’ Den shows real businesses pitching to investors to lift the lid on what happens in the business world. This episode features an entrepreneur sharing their own, personal experience that led to a business creation.”
ED! has approached Steven Bartlett and Giselle Boxer for comment.
Read more: Dragons’ Den: The Dragons’ net worths and how much they’re paid for the BBC series
Dragon’s Den continues tomorrow (Thursday, January 25) at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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