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How to get on the new season of Dragons’ Den to pitch your business idea

If you've got a great business idea to put to the Dragons' Den venture capitalists, here's how you can apply to take your place in the Den.

The Manc The Manc - 30th August 2021

The latest season of Dragon’s Den has just finished airing and applications to appear on the show have already re-opened.

The new season of the hit BBC show will introduce Manchester-based entrepreneur Steven Bartlett as the new dragon, replacing Tej Lalvani, chief executive of vitamin company Vitabiotics, who announced his departure earlier this year.

Alongside Steven are returning moguls Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman and Sara Davies, who will all be eager to invest during what is being pipped as the most competitive lineup of dragons ever.

The den // BBC

Hosted by Evan Davis, the business show allows budding entrepreneurs to pitch their new business ideas and product innovations to the previously mentioned lineup of investors – and applications to be a contestant for what will be its nineteenth series are now open.

As part of the process, you must provide details about how much investment you are looking for and an ‘Executive Summary’ about your business.

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The application form says: “In the Executive Summary, you have the chance to sell yourself and your idea, and give a clear and comprehensive outline of your business or product. What problem does your idea solve?

Steve Bartlett becomes youngest BBC Dragon - BusinessCloud
Steven Bartlett is the founder of international social media agency Social Chain // BusinessCloud

“What stage are you at with patent or copyright protection? Where are you up to with prototyping or testing? Describe sales, if your business is trading.”

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Applications, open to those aged 18 or over, will be put forward to be shortlisted for inclusion in the programme.

To submit your business, fill out the form online here.

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Davina McCall asks fans to ‘say a prayer’ as she undergoes brain surgery

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Davina McCall is undergoing surgery for a brain tumour. Credit: Instagram

Davina McCall has revealed she is undergoing surgery for a ‘quite big’ brain tumour.

The presenter and TV personality has shared a video on Instagram via her partner Michael Douglas updating fans on her diagnosis and asking them to ‘say a prayer’.

Davina, 57, said that the benign brain tumour was discovered during a health scan which she ‘thought she was going to ace’.

The 14mm colloid cyst tumour is rare, with only three in a million diagnoses, and ‘needs to come out because if it grows it would be bad’, she said in the pre-recorded video.

Michael shared the video to say that his partner would be ‘off grid’ while she recovers, adding: “She is in great shape and in very good hands.

“I’ll do the odd update from her account here for anyone interested. I’m sure she’ll read all the comments when she’s able to so feel free to send love. The support of people is amazingly powerful. Have a great day everyone. Michael xxx”

It’s expected that she will need to spend at least nine days in hospital following the surgery, a craniotomy that involves removing part of the skull to access the brain to take out the cyst.

Davina said in a video where she’s smiling bravely througout: “I’m handing the reins over to my surgeon, he knows what he’s doing and I’m going to do the getting better bit after. I’ll see you on the other side.”

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Featured image: Instagram, @davinamccall

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Man United legend Eric Cantona stuns Manchester artists with surprise visit to GRIT Studios

Danny Jones Danny Jones Eric Cantona surprises Manchester artists at GRIT Studios

Artists working at a Manchester studio were left speechless by a recent surprise visit from none other than Man United legend Eric Cantona.

The former United forward’s love for the city has never waned no matter how many years have gone by and as a lover of all things art, be it music, painting, acting or what he did with a football, he never fails to engage with local culture whenever he’s here.

He may not be based here anymore but the Frenchman – who knows a thing or two about art given his past acting jobs, newfound music career and previous showcases – still pays plenty of visits to 0161, including a recent unannounced one.

Cantona was back in the city centre this week to pay GRIT Studios resident Michael Browne, the artist who he collaborated with to create his National Football Museum exhibition last year, but the one thing Browne didn’t do was let the other people working in their city centre location he was coming.

GRIT Studios Manchester Stockport
Cantona pays Manchester art studio a surprise visit
Credit: GRIT Studios Manchester (supplied)

To be fair, anyone would double-take if they saw Eric Cantona walk into a room, so this was quite a memorable occasion for the unsuspecting artists.

After working on 2023’s From Moss Side to Marseille with Browne, the 58-year-old has been reimmersing himself in the world of Manchester art and there aren’t many places that epitomise that than GRIT, who are based in Stockport and from their second studio at Great Northern Warehouse.

Landing in Manchester from Paris, Cantona arrived in the late morning and ended up staying for over an hour, taking time to meet a number of artists and tour the space with co-founder John Macaulay.

Clearly impressed with their work and genuinely enthused by the sense of community within the local grassroots art scene, it was a special visit for everyone involved.

John, a die-hard Man United fan who has seen the Red Devils play in 25 countries before going on to set up GRIT Studios and much-loved Art Battle MCR with his wife Sophie, said: “It’s full circle for me having watched Eric play all over the world, it’s true honour that he’s flown in to see our talented artists.”

eric cantona back in manchester
eric cantona at manchester art studio
Credit: Supplied

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Artists spent time chatting with Eric and talking through their creative processes; those present included mosaic artist, Francis Thorrington, plein air (outdoor) artist, Sketch MCR – a.k.a. Ben Rock – painters Jodie Silverman, Helen Davies and Sophie Macaulay, as well as woodworker Gus Riddell.

Also a fellow United fan, Francis said he simply “couldn’t stop smiling the whole time” after Cantona described his work as wonderful.

Eric looked at home when he picked up and started strumming Chris Pollin’s hand-made guitars, which are handcrafted from driftwood and take hundreds of hours of work.

The enigmatic sports personality turned pop philosopher and cultural figure’s final message was that it was refreshing to see a place where “art was for everyone” not just the elite.

As for Browne, he is sworn to secrecy on his next project but let’s just say you can expect some big announcements in the coming weeks. As for GRIT, you can visit one of their open days this Saturday, 16 November and make sure to check out their Stockport studio if you’re in the area.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — GRIT Studios (supplied)

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