Former England footballer Gary Neville ended his long wait to join the Dragon’s Den panel and wasted little time impressing one of the show’s experienced regulars

Gary Neville impressed Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden while debuting on the long-running BBC show, recovering from a ribbing by a guest to show off his business smarts.

Former Manchester United and England right-back Neville, who has also enjoyed a successful business career since hanging up his boots, was earlier confirmed as a guest dragon for the current season of the show. He wasn’t involved in earlier episodes in the run but made his debut on Thursday night.

Fellow Dragon Steven Bartlett had a joke at Neville’s expense early on, before one budding entrepreneur also took aim at him. However, Neville had the last laugh after coming through his test.