Published 17 September 2026.
Lucy & Lola is on Dragons' Den on Thursday 24 September 2026 at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. I filmed the pitch last year and have not been able to tell anyone until now. I went in because a business built on one secondhand machine in my living room had outgrown what I knew how to do next, and I wanted to find out whether it could stand up in that room.
I have wanted to write this post ever since we filmed last year. From the moment I walked out of that lift I have not been allowed to say a word about it to anyone outside a very small circle. Not to customers, not to most of the team, not on Instagram when people asked why I looked so exhausted that week. So this is the first time I get to say it out loud: we are on Dragons' Den, it is on BBC One at 8pm on Thursday 24 September, and I would love you to watch.
Key takeaways
- Lucy & Lola is on Dragons' Den on Thursday 24 September 2026, 8pm, BBC One.
- The pitch was filmed last year and kept secret until now.
- I started the business in lockdown with one embroidery machine.
- I went in for the pressure test, not only for the money.
- I cannot say what happened until the episode has been broadcast.
- Every portrait is still designed from your photo and stitched in Cambridge.
- Orders will be busy after the show, so dispatch times at checkout are honest.
Why did I apply to Dragons' Den?
The honest answer is that I wanted someone to tell me the truth. When you build something yourself it is very easy to spend four years surrounded by people who are kind to you. Customers are lovely, your team wants you to succeed, your mum thinks everything you do is brilliant. Nobody is sitting across the room asking you hard questions about your margins with the lights on.
I am a CIMA qualified accountant. I spent years in finance before I did this full time, so I am not frightened of a spreadsheet. What I was less sure about was whether the story I tell about this business, the one I believe, would survive contact with five people whose entire job is to find the hole in it. That is what I went for. The investment mattered, obviously. But the reason I clicked apply at eleven o'clock at night was that I wanted to know.
I did not go on Dragons' Den because the business was struggling. I went because it was working, and I did not fully understand why, and that frightened me more. A business you cannot explain is a business you cannot repeat. Standing in front of the Dragons forced me to be able to explain it, in order, out loud, with numbers, in under three minutes.
What was it actually like in the Den?
I had rehearsed the pitch until Andy could recite it in his sleep, and I still lost my place. What saved me was the product. I had brought the actual pieces, made on our own machines by our own team in Cambridge, and I gave one to every Dragon. Watching five people who have seen thousands of pitches turn a sweatshirt over in their hands and actually look at the stitching was the moment my heart rate came down. I could not have talked my way through that room. The embroidery could.
Official images. Credit: BBC Studios / Dragons' Den.
What happened after the pitch?
I am not allowed to tell you. Dragons' Den outcomes are kept under embargo until the episode is broadcast, and that is not me being coy, it is a contract. Whatever you read online before 8pm on Thursday 24 September is somebody guessing. Watch it on BBC One, and I will write the full story on our Dragons' Den page the same evening.
What I can tell you is what not being able to talk about it did to the business, which is the part I find more interesting anyway. We could not plan around it publicly, so we just kept building. We took on more machines and more people, almost all of them young women from around Cambridge. We cut the product range down to the things we are genuinely best at and stopped printing altogether. If the show had never aired, every single one of those decisions would still have been the right one.
How did we get from one machine to the Den?
- 2021I rescued Lola, a dachshund, during lockdown and bought a secondhand embroidery machine because I wanted her face on something and could not find anything that looked like her.
- The pivotWe started with printed designs. They were fine. Embroidery was better, and once we saw a stitched portrait next to a printed one there was no argument to have.
- February 2022We launched properly on our own website.
- The Christmas that broke everythingAn international feature ran just before Christmas and brought hundreds of orders overnight. I stitched through the night for a week. It was the first time I understood what this could be.
- Out on the roadCrufts, and more than fifteen Dog Fest events, meeting the people who actually buy this. Nothing has taught me more.
- Last yearI filmed the pitch, and then said nothing about it until now.
- 2026Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe, a real production floor, and a team I would not swap for anything.
- 24 September 20268pm, BBC One.
What actually is Lucy & Lola, for anyone arriving from the show?
If you have found this because you watched the episode or saw a trailer, welcome, and here is the plain version. You send us a photo you already have of your pet. We design a portrait from that photo. We send it to you, and you can ask for as many changes as you want. Nothing gets stitched until you say you are happy with it. Then we embroider it onto whatever you chose, here in our Cambridge studio, and post it to you.
What we stitch
- Sweatshirts and hoodies, which is where most people start
- T shirts and full zip fleece jackets
- Hooded blankets and velvet cushions, for the house rather than the wardrobe
- Recycled backpacks and cross body bags
- Dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, hamsters, birds and reptiles
- Multi pet designs, so the whole household ends up on one piece
- A name on the sleeve, and a small halo for a pet who has died
It is embroidered, not printed. We took printed products off the site completely, because embroidery is the thing people come back for and I would rather do one thing properly. Over 75,000 orders have gone out of this building, and we are rated 4.9 from more than 10,000 five star reviews, which I still find slightly unbelievable when I think about the first one I posted from my hallway.
What should you know before ordering after the show?
I want to be straight with you about this, because the worst possible outcome of a night like Thursday is a thousand people having a bad experience with us.
| What people assume | The reality |
|---|---|
| It ships in a couple of days | Every portrait is designed and stitched to order. The dispatch window is shown at checkout and it is a real number, not a hopeful one. |
| You need a professional photo | You do not. A clear, well lit phone photo of your pet's face is ideal. We review every photo and tell you if it will not work. |
| You have to decide the photo before you order | You do not. You can send it to us afterwards, which matters if you are buying as a gift or are not ready to choose yet. |
| You are stuck with the first design | Unlimited revisions before anything is stitched. If it does not look like your dog, tell us, and we change it. |
| It is printed on | It is stitched. That is the whole point, and it is why it costs what it costs. |
On timings, honestly. Our dispatch window is currently 2 to 3 weeks, and it is always shown at checkout before you pay. We are expecting Thursday to be the busiest night in the history of this business, and if that window has to move, we will move the number on the website rather than let you find out from a delayed parcel. If you are ordering for a specific date, check the window first and put the date in your order notes.
When is Lucy & Lola not the right choice?
Genuinely, sometimes we are not, and I would rather say so here than have you disappointed.
- You need it in a few days. We cannot do it. Buy a gift card and let them choose their own item and photo instead.
- The only photo you have is dark, blurry or taken from a long way off. A portrait can only be as good as the picture it is designed from.
- You want a full body pose in fine detail. Embroidery is wonderful at faces and less good at small intricate detail. Head and shoulders is what we do best.
- You want something printed. We do not print, and we are not going to start.
- You want the cheapest pet gift available. That is not us, and I would rather tell you than pretend.
Send us a photo of your pet, approve the design, and we will stitch it here in Cambridge. Unlimited revisions before anything is made.
Thank you, and see you Thursday
The thing I keep coming back to is that none of this happened because of a clever idea. It happened because a lot of people trusted a very small business with a photograph of an animal they love, some of whom were no longer alive, and we did not let them down. That is the whole business. Everything else, the machines, the unit, the team, even the lift, is downstream of that.
So if you have ever ordered from us, you are part of why there is anything to pitch. Thursday 24 September, 8pm, BBC One. I will be watching from behind a cushion, probably one with Lola on it.
Frequently asked questions
When is Lucy & Lola on Dragons' Den?
Thursday 24 September 2026 at 8pm on BBC One, and on BBC iPlayer straight after broadcast. The pitch was filmed last year, which is why there is such a long gap between filming and transmission. That gap is normal for Dragons' Den.
Did Lucy & Lola get investment on Dragons' Den?
We are not able to say until the episode has been broadcast. Outcomes are under embargo until transmission, so anything published before 8pm on Thursday 24 September 2026 is speculation. The full story will go on our Dragons' Den page the same evening.
Why did it take so long between filming and the episode airing?
Dragons' Den films a whole series well ahead of broadcast, then transmits the episodes across the following months. We filmed last year and are on air in September 2026. Everyone who pitches signs a non disclosure agreement, so founders cannot talk about it publicly until close to their own episode.
What does Lucy & Lola make?
Realistic embroidered pet portraits, designed from a photo you send us and stitched onto sweatshirts, hoodies, t shirts, fleeces, hooded blankets, cushions, backpacks and bags. Everything is made to order in our Cambridge studio and shipped worldwide. Nothing is printed.
How do I send my photo?
You can upload it when you order, or send it to us afterwards if you have not chosen one yet. A clear, well lit photo of your pet's face works best. Every photo is reviewed by a person before the portrait is designed, and if yours will not work we will tell you and help you pick a better one rather than pressing on regardless.
What if the portrait does not look like my pet?
Tell us and we change it. You get unlimited revisions before anything is stitched, and nothing goes on a machine until you have approved the design. This is the part of the process we protect most carefully, because a portrait that is nearly right is worse than no portrait at all.
How long will orders take after the Dragons' Den episode?
The dispatch window is always shown at checkout and updated as capacity changes. It is currently 2 to 3 weeks. We have added machines and staff ahead of the broadcast specifically to protect that number, but if demand means it has to move, we will change it on the website before you pay rather than after.
Can you stitch a pet who has died?
Yes, and memorial orders are a large part of what we do. A small halo can be added above the portrait on any product. It is a quiet marker rather than an obvious one, so the piece still reads as a portrait of the pet. If you are buying for someone else, our pet memorial gifts page is the gentlest place to start.
Where can I buy Lucy & Lola products?
Only at lucyandlolashop.com. We do not sell through third party marketplaces, so listings elsewhere using our photos are not us. We ship worldwide from Cambridge.
Who is Andy Cheung?
Andy is my co founder, fellow director and long suffering husband, and he runs the team day to day. I am, by my own admission, too chaotic to manage people directly. The business works because he does that part properly while I do the product, the brand and the parts that involve standing in lifts.
Leave a comment