Trinny Woodall opened up about her on-screen disagreement with Dragon’s Den mogul Touker Suleyman on the latest instalment of the BBC programme.
As a celebrity participant, the fashion and beauty expert found herself at odds with the seasoned entrepreneur regarding a pitch for cleaning accessories.
Touker questioned the sustainability of relying solely on online sales, asking: “How do you switch it all off and still keep the lights on?” Trinny, visibly taken aback, retorted by raising her hand, reports the Mirror.
She hit back: “You always come up with this thing of, like, the end of D2C. You know, when I watch this show, I hear you say it. I just umbrage because I think there is power in D2C.”
Despite their differing viewpoints, both Touker and Trinny made offers to the pitcher, who ultimately chose a joint deal that included Trinny and fellow Dragon Deborah. During her appearance on This Morning with presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, Trinny elaborated on her perspective.
While on air on Friday, she explained to the ITV hosts: “What happened was he was sort of challenging this woman, saying,’You’re doing a lot of director consumer and you’re growing as a business, you haven’t made money yet’.
“So when you’re a business that’s online, you have to grow that business and she had gotten a little bit of investment so she was growing a business.”
Trinny explained that Touker was sceptical about the future of the woman’s business, a view she contested. Emphasising her company’s strong online presence, Trinny told the ITV hosts that 75% of her business operates online, reflecting a broader trend in the UK market.
She said: “That was his opinion, I’ve known him for 30 years. We have to just know what goes on behind the scenes. I’ve known him for 30 years and so I felt I could challenge him because I knew him. I was like, ‘Come on Touker’.
“It was really fun to do! But it was not, you know how some of those things are for television? It was just what happened.”
Despite their disagreement, Trinny expressed how much she relished participating in the show, adding: “It was good, it’s very nerve-wracking to be up there. I know how nerve-wracking it is to be up there.”
When asked by Alison which Dragon she would choose for investment if starting anew, Trinny indicated she would opt for either Sara Davies or Deborah Meaden.
This Morning continues weekdays on ITV from 10am. Dragon’s Den is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.