London entrepreneurs Edward Hancock and Richard Simpson faced the Dragons in the first episode of the 19th series of Dragons' Den on Thursday January 6, 2022. 

The duo brought all the "deals and drama" back to the Den by looking for a £150,000 investment in exchange for 3% off their business.

The pair described their business - CheeseGeek - as a "disruptive modern cheesemonger". 

The cheese subscription business divided the Den almost in half.

How did the Londoners perform in the Den?

While their ethically sourced cheeses appealed to Deborah Meaden, the Dragon raised questions of competing after the fallout from Brexit settles as well as the environmental effects of the milk production. 

Ms Meaden concluded that it wasn't the investment for her and became the first "I'm Out" of the series. 

She was joined by fellow Dragon Sara Davies who also bowed out on a potential deal. 

However, the rest of the panellists were very interested in making an investment. 

Although Peter Jones was initially critical of the business' valuation, saying: "Your valuation is smellier than your cheese," Mr Jones counter-offered with all of the money for 15% of the business.

Both new Dragon Steven Bartlett and Touker Suleyman expressed an interest in becoming investors. 

Before making an offer, the Den's youngest Dragon wanted to see if the contestants knew the risk of their industry. 

Satisfied, Mr Bartlett offered the pair the full amount for 7.5% of the business while Touker Suleyman offered 15% for the £150,000.

The 29-year-old put a cat among the pigeons with veteran Dragon Peter Jones after undercutting his offer. 

Mr Bartlett proposed his figure to the duo, saying: "I'm not going to suck the blood out of you like Peter just did".

In the end, the entrepreneurs negotiated a deal where Mr Bartlett would drop his share to 5% if they returned their money within 24 months.

Dragons' Den airs at 8pm on Thursdays on BBC One.