BBC Takes Down Dragon's Den Episode Featuring Gary Neville; Know Why

The British Broadcasting Council (BBC) has been forced to take down a recent episode of Dragon’s Den featuring Manchester United legend Gary Neville as one of the six multimillionaire judges.

Similar to Shark Tank, the show is meant to provide a platform to emerging entrepreneurs, who can pitch their business ideas to a panel of experts, seeking investment for their start-ups.

A businesswoman from Sheffield named Giselle Boxer appeared on January 18’s episode of Dragon’s Den to pitch her product, “ear seeds”. After it was reported that the 31-year-old made “unfounded claims” about the medical tool, the BBC removed the particular episode from iPlayer.

Stepping through the iconic lift doors, Boxer could attract offers from all six Dragons– Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, Touker Suleyman, Steven Bartlett, Sara Davies and Neville as well. She sought an investment of £50,000 in return for a 10 per cent stake in her business, which has been named “Acu Seeds”. Bartlett finally clinched the deal, agreeing to a 12.5 per cent return. According to Boxer, she has got the business idea from her life experience.

While pitching her product to the judges, Boxer shared her story of being diagnosed with the debilitating condition known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) at the age of 26 when she was building her career at a well-known advertising agency.

As per the National Health Service (NHS), M.E. refers to chronic fatigue syndrome which is a long-term condition with a variety of symptoms, the most common of which is excessive tiredness. The other symptoms include difficulty in sleeping, problems with cognition, longer recovery times after physical exercise, and fatigue that doesn’t go away even after getting a lot of rest.

Some people suffering from M.E. may also experience muscle discomfort, intolerable headaches, irregular heart rhythms, nausea and a scratchy throat. While the NHS recognises it as an incurable condition, treatment can only relieve the symptoms. Sufferers are suggested to try pain or sleep medication and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for faster results.

Speaking on Dragon’s Den, Boxer revealed that she had gone through a personal diet and used acupuncture, Chinese herbs and ear seeds to battle M.E. “Ear seeds are an ancient Chinese medicine tool, based on the principles of acupuncture, but without the needles. They are tiny beads, which stick onto the ear, applying pressure onto nerve endings. They send signals to the brain and body to relax the nervous system, release endorphins and naturally relieve pain,” she explained.

After the episode was aired, a UK-based charity, Action for M.E., sent an open letter to the “Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee” and the “Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee”, saying a “contestant made unevidenced claims regarding the efficacy of ‘acu seeds’ as a treatment” for the chronic disease.

Due to this safety concern over Boxer’s ear seeds, the BBC took down the episode of Dragon’s Den and pledged to review the claims made by Action for M.E.