Beyond The Joke can exclusively reveal today that it will be featured on the new series of Dragon's Den which moves to BBC One from tonight at 8pm.
Later in the series an episode will feature the website's founder, Bruce Dessau, pitching for £100,000 and offering a 10 per cent stake in his website to the Dragons – Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Tej Lalvani and Sara Davies.
It was not easy to get onto the show and a number of complicated hoops had to be jumped through. But I think the producers liked the idea of a comedy-related pitch in a gloomy time. It also helped that I was able to enlist the support of a number of high profile comedians who will appear alongside me in the programme.
Part of the pitch was the plan to make the website the world's number one comedy website. But the other exciting aspect was the plan to turn it into a print magazine. While some might have thought that this was a backwards step in the world of the web, there was a persuasive argument that a specialist magazine like this, mixing comedy news with comedy articles, could be a huge hit. Private Eye is a good example of a magazine that continues to thrive in the digital age.
So did Dragon's Den embrace my vision of the future? Did Deborah Meaden jump out of her chair and lob her wad of crisp £50 notes to me? Did I make Peter Jones crack a smile? You'll have to tune into the whole series to find out. I don't at this stage know what episode my pitch will feature in.
If you want to take part in Dragons’ Den, download the application form (in Chrome: right click on the link and choose 'Open link in new tab'). Then either email or post it as directed in the form.
As part of normal selection process we may approach entrepreneurs, or they may apply direct. In each case all applications are processed in the same way. To be considered all candidates need to submit an application form and these are then subject to the same casting criteria.
Final selection for participation in the programme will be decided on a number of factors including the strength of idea, a robust business plan and projected turnover.
Dragon's Den, Thursdays from April 1, 8pm, BBC One
Picture: BBC
Oh, and for those that hadn't noticed today's date...
