The Money Pit turns Dragons' Den on its head

Jason Manford is to front a Dragon’s Den-style TV show in which ordinary people invest in business ideas.

In The Money Pit, which is being made for the Dave channel, members of the public will invest between £100 and £20,000 in businesses established by entrepreneurs, inventors, tradespeople and artisans.

The broadcaster said: ‘The show taps into the popular trend of crowd-funding, bringing it to life in an intense, arena-style setting that will see rivalries develop between strong-willed investors who fancy themselves able to spot the next big thing and entrepreneurs fighting for funds.’

Manford said: ‘I’m inviting all those people with some spare cash that they’re thinking of hiding under the mattress, or sticking on the 3.15 at Haydock Park to join me in The Money Pit instead.

‘It’s their chance to invest in real life entrepreneurs who could make them serious money. Who knows, if they back the right one they might be able to buy a racehorse of their own - or a really big mattress.’

UKTV commissioner s Catherine Catton said Manford would bring ‘wit, warmth and energy to this interesting new show’.

The Money Pit is being made by independent production house Liberty Bell, which is owned by cienedy giant Avalon and has previously made Dave Gorman’s Modern Life Is Goodish and the Three Men… series with Dara O Briain, Griff Rhys Jones and Rory McGrath.

Executive producers are Michele Carlisle and Jamie Isaacs, who said: ‘This series really turns things on their head, because - for once - it’s the man or woman in the street who get to play God. You don’t have to be rich and nasty to spot a good investment opportunity - this is all about the wit and the wisdom of the crowd.’

Eight hour-long episodes will air on Dave later this year.

Published: 27 May 2015