Gary Neville and Emma Grede will be guest dragons in new 21st series of Dragons’ Den

Jones is the longest serving Dragon in the world, having taken part in all 21 UK series and also appearing as a guest on US version Shark Tank.

And he is excited about the arrival of the new faces, saying: “It’s a landmark year in that we have Guest Dragons joining the Den for the first time. It’s going to be different and as competitive as ever.

“There are so many great investments this series and that means the Dragons are having to fight among themselves in order to win an investment.

“Two new Guest Dragons makes it even more competitive as I now have five Dragons to compete against instead of four.

"There’s no lack of fire breathing in the Den from the Dragons as we compete to invest.”

Before Gary and Emma join the Dragons later in the series, the regular quintet get the new series under way tonight.

An entrepreneurial family hopes that one or more of the Dragons will fall head over heels with their sock business which employs people with learning disabilities.

Meanwhile, three lads from Liverpool are looking to impress with their second-hand luxury clothing business.

Then, a pair of optical experts set their sights on investment with affordable and fashionable eyewear, before a product-mad inventor finds a kindred spirit in the Den.

Since the first episode of Dragons’ Den premiered on BBC Two 19 years ago to the day, there has been a total of 19 Dragons, who have pledged 415 pieces of investment, worth a whopping £32million.

And during this 21st series, viewers will get to see £2.3million in additional investment.

Meanwhile, the good news for fans of Jones, whose investments include Wonderland Magazine, Levi Roots Reggae Reggae Sauce, The Tiny Box Company and Solar Buddies, is that he is seemingly going nowhere, despite the new arrivals.

The 57-year-old tycoon who is said to be worth over £1.15billion, says: “To have the opportunity to listen and hear about someone’s business idea and dream, and be able to invest and help them make those dreams a reality is extremely special.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have sat through over 1,000 pitches on Dragons’ Den and still, even to this day, I get excited as soon as those lift doors open.

“To be able to watch and listen to how people pitch their business idea, at the same time listen to the feedback and interrogation from the Dragons that follows can be incredibly enlightening.

“So many business lessons in such a short space of time. It’s very competitive too and that’s so relevant in business.”