EXCLUSIVEI was on Dragons' Den and one of the judges was VERY rude to me off-camera - what you see on screen is just a persona

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A businesswoman who went on Dragons' Den 17 years ago has spoken out about her 'very rude' off-camera experience with Duncan Bannatyne.

Rachel Watkyn OBE, from East Sussex, went on the BBC show in a bid to secure a £53,000 investment for a 20 per cent stake in Tiny Box Company, which she jointly owns with radio presenter, Robin Banks. 

The 54-year-old said she had noticed a gap in the market in 2008 for recycled packaging and decided to become the first company to focus on eco-friendly gift and jewellery boxes.

However, despite Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis jointly investing £60,000 in exchange for 40 per cent, Duncan was not impressed with Rachel's product or pitch and instead told her she was on a 'crusade' and that his eight-year-old daughter could create better packaging.  

When Robin attempted to defend his friend and business partner, he was told: 'At what point in your relationship did you decide that Rachel couldn't speak for herself?'

Now Rachel, who has battled cancer four times, has told FEMAIL that the Scottish entrepreneur was rude to her behind the scenes and claimed Duncan told her that he would be surprised if she ended up getting her hands on Theo and Peter's money.

'Duncan Bannatyne off camera was very rude and I probably would've told my younger self to say something back as opposed to do just swallowing it,' Rachel said. 

'I was too terrified. There was this man that I saw this man that was mega successful and that I held in high esteem. He literally came up and said to me "If you get that money, I'm a Dutchman" and just walked off." I keep meaning to send him some Dutch cheese.

Rachel said that she was too stunned to speak after claiming Duncan was rude to her off-camera back in 2008 

Rachel claims that Duncan (pictured) was rude off camera and told her that he would be shocked if the investment from Peter and Theo went through 

'I think my younger self would have told Duncan to get over himself or to p*** off. My current self would probably ask him how I could help unburden his obvious pain he’s carrying to react like that.'

Instead, Rachel was too stunned to reply to his comment and decided to stay quiet. 

In the Den, Duncan told Rachel: 'I think it's absolutely ridiculous that you come along with what you call a business that you describe as ethical and recycled materials and you produce a box that my eight-year-old daughter Emily could make better at school.  

'The ends don't match up, the lines aren't straight. It's pathetic, it really is. I'm not investing, I'm out.' 

Rachel said she expected him to be blunt on camera because you're 'walking into a lair and they're sold to you as dragons'.

But she was under the impression that his persona was only for the show and said: 'Off camera really caught me off guard. 

'It was worse than the comments he made on camera because on camera you are playing a role. It threw me because we got a verbal yes on camera so I couldn't understand [his comment]. 

'That was my naivety of not realising that you had to go through a lengthy due diligence process and that the dragons could pull out.' 

Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis jointly invested £60,000 in Rachel and Robin's business, in exchange for 40 per cent (pictured at a charity event together)

Rachel Watkyn OBE, from East Sussex, went on the BBC show in a bid to secure a £53,000 investment for a 20 per cent stake in Tiny Box Company

Duncan Bannatyne is pictured with his wife Nigora Whitehorn - who is 31 years his junior - at the Pride of Britain Awards in October last year 

Last year it was revealed Rachel's business that Duncan had ripped to shreds was turning over £10million annually 

Rachel said that business mentors Theo and Peter have always been pleasant and respectful, adding that she has not had any issues with them. 

Last year it was revealed that the business Duncan had ripped to shreds was turning over £10million annually. 

Rachel said that the one thing she's learnt from the process is that business owners should have more self worth. 

'The mistake I made, which we all make, is that we assume that the people we are pitching to are better than you,' she said.

'Not more knowledgeable, you think they are better than you. I've learnt that nobody is better than you, we just have different skill sets. 

'If I could've told my younger self to have more self worth, it would've a different game, I wouldn't have given away 40 per cent of my business.'

Rachel believes that older seasons of Dragons' Den were tougher than new seasons as the dragons were harsher towards budding businessmen and women. 

'If you look back over the old episodes like Trunki and Tangle Teezer the Dragons were pretty brutal, they broke everything and they were brutal with their comments,' she said. 

'Whereas now I think they are more aware they are speaking to people about their dreams. So I think that if they do crush them, they crush them more mindfully than in the early years.' 

Rachel said that Theo and Peter have always been pleasant and respectful towards her 

Duncan called Rachel's business 'pathetic' on the show and said his eight-year-old daughter could make better boxes 

She believes that during her pitch, Peter 'felt sorry for her' because of the health journey she had been on prior to setting up her business.  

Rachel was left bed-bound for nine months following an appendix operation that went wrong, leading to her losing her house, job, car and her friends. 

It took her years to be able to work part time again. 

Rachel said: 'The first nine months was the scariest because nobody could tell me whether I was going to be able to walk again or have a life again or I was going to be bed-ridden for the rest of my life.

'When you hit rock bottom, you have nowhere else to go. I lost the fear of starting [the business] because I was at the bottom. When you're at the bottom, you care less.' 

And since starting Tiny Box Company, she has also battled four bouts of lung, skin and breast cancers in the past nine years, which she described as 'really challenging.' 

'At the time I was due to marry my husband and nobody could tell me whether it was terminal, whether it wasn't, whether I was going to live. That was tougher. The surgeon said "You better get married".

'But as it turned out, the cancer hadn't spread. I had surgery at Guy's Hospital where they removed the bottom third of my lung through keyhole surgery.'

In 2022, Rachel found out she had breast cancer and had to have a  double mastectomy.

This year, Guy's Hospital saw an irregular mole on Rachel's skin which turned out to be skin cancer, leading to her having surgery on her arm. 

Rachel urged people to get themselves checked over, whether that be attending a routine appointment or flagging when they've noticed a change in their bodies. 

'If you get invited, use the opportunity to go and check even if the centre is a bit out of town because we are so privileged that we generally have free healthcare in this country,' she said.

'[If you notice] any moles, any lumps and bumps, go and get them checked because most types of early cancer are treatable.' 

Duncan Bannatyne did not wish to comment when approached.