I’m a psychic – I knew Gary Neville would be my Dragon

For most contestants on BBC’s Dragons’ Den, one could only dream of being able to read the minds of the multi-millionaire investors they are hoping to secure a deal with.

But for professional psychic medium Danielle Close, this became a reality after she secured a £50,000 joint investment from her ‘dream Dragons’ Deborah Meaden and Gary Neville.

Appearing on the hit BBC investment series, the business owner presented her skincare brand My Skin Feels, which creates effective, sensitive-skin-friendly formulas using rescued food by-products.

However, for Danielle, who spoke to Metro exclusively about her time on the show, her journey began back in 2023 when former Manchester United footballer Gary was announced as a guest Dragon for series 21.

‘If you want to know something really weird… years ago when Gary Neville was announced as a Dragon, I really thought if I ever go on the show I want my Dragon to be him,’ she told us.

‘So when I was put with him, I just knew it, I had such a good feeling about him and I don’t know why,’ she told us.

‘It’s quite interesting how I just tuned into it, and also how I got a few offers but I knew which ones felt like the right ones… [Deborah and Gary] fit the energy of the company.’

The business owner is a fifth-generation psychic medium with seven years of formal training to her name.

Offering psychic and mediumship readings both online and in person, Danielle balances this alongside running her full-time business.

Discussing her background as a professional psychic medium, which is something that has strongly informed her brand’s intuition-led approach, Danielle said there is a ‘lot of stigma around the work’.

However, she explained that it has ‘had such a positive impact on My Skin Feels’.

‘People think that my psychic work is separate, but intuition is your daily life… for me, choosing who to work with, knowing which direction to go in, knowing what feels right, what is wrong, it’s just having good intuition.

‘When you go into mediumship, it’s a separate thing because that’s particularly a specific skill for clients, but intuition in business goes hand in hand and I bet if you talk to any business leader they’re using intuition and not realising they’re using it.’

Despite securing a £50,000 investment from Gary and Deborah on the show, Danielle revealed that she didn’t end up taking their money after private investors offered a better deal.

‘Weirdly, these investors came in through my psychic mediumship contacts and they just really liked the business, then it just went on a bit of a spiral.’

This came after she appeared to snub Peter Jones, who had also offered to invest in her company, in a hilarious moment during her episode.

‘It was a complete accident,’ she added. ‘I actually forgot he made an offer because I was so focused on Deborah and Gary, and then I said I’m actually really sorry.’

In the Den, Danielle originally asked for £50,000 in exchange for 10% of the business.

While several Dragons made offers including Peter, who were all proposing taking 20% equity, after negotiating, Danielle accepted Deborah and Gary’s joint offer of £50,000 for 20%, with both Dragons keen to be actively involved in scaling the brand.

Since her time on the show, My Skin Feels has achieved 250% year-on-year growth. It has also launched into all 15 Credo Beauty stores across the US as well as securing early distribution with Whole Foods.

Dragons’ Den is available to watch on BBC One at 8pm on Thursday.

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