Dragon Peter Jones breathes fire at claims

Dragons' Den star Peter Jones has hit back at recent reports concerning the judges' failure to invest in successful contestants following their initial encounter on the show.

In an interview with BBC Breakfast News this morning, Jones explained why some deals have collapsed.

"When somebody gets an offer for money it's subject to some of the things that they say on camera that obviously need checking out... to verify what was said is absolutely correct," he said. "So on some occasions, unwittingly - not deliberately - some of the deals fall down as a result."

Earlier this month, several tabloids featured reports on the plight of several contestants who claimed that they received no money despite promises made on the BBC Two programme.

Jones recently signed a deal with ITV to produce and appear in two new series, including a British version of the show American Inventor.