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'Dragons' Den' Hilary Devey: 'Duncan Bannatyne intimidated me'

Published Tuesday, Aug 9 2011, 16:15 BST | By Mayer Nissim | 9 comments

Hilary Devey has admitted that she was intimidated by Duncan Bannatyne when she first joined the Dragons' Den panel.

The entrepreneur replaced James Caan for the show's current ninth series, joining Bannatyne, Theo Paphitis, Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones in the Den.

Asked which Dragon she got on best with, Devey told Heat: "I was a bit intimidated at first by Duncan Bannatyne, but underneath it, he's a gentleman."

When asked to rank her own scariness on a scale of one to ten, she added: "If someone is honest with me, it's probably a two.

"If they're trying to be devious and are not as straightforward as they could be, then I would say I was 20. And I will not hold back. I'll wipe the floor with the other Dragons."

Quizzed on whether her distinctive '80s fashion style has been influenced by Lady GaGa, Devey quipped: "I'd like to think that I was her inspiration."

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