We can’t wait to showcase our South Shields sweet shop on Dragons’ Den
A hugely popular South Shields sweet shop is preparing to shine on national television.
The owners of South Shields-based Mr Swainston’s have announced that they are set to appear on an upcoming episode of BBC’s Dragons’ Den.
John Gray and Sean Robinson are set to present the popular business to the Dragons in an episode that airs on Thursday, August 20.
It’s the latest milestone in an already busy year for the pair, who moved the business from its original Westoe Road location to a new shop on Fowler Street at the start of April.
The venue has proven to be incredibly popular with people across the North East and beyond - with the business continuing to go from strength to strength.
‘Surreal’
Due to contractual reasons, the pair couldn’t reveal too much about the outcome of the experience but John did give an insight into what it was like to set foot on the Dragons’ Den set and shared where the idea to apply for the TV show came from.
He said: “It was probably one of the most surreal experiences that we’ve ever done - stepping into the Den and seeing it in front of you just blows your mind.
“We always call our Thursdays ‘Business Thursdays’ because we watch Dragons' Den and The Apprentice and we just made a passing comment of ‘imagine if we were on there’.
“Then a few weeks later, there was information on how to apply for Dragons’ Den so we sent in an application and heard nothing for about six weeks.
“We were at Westoe Road at the time and then one random afternoon, we got a voicemail from the BBC wanting to speak to us and it went from there.”
Bringing Mr Swainston’s to the national stage
The shop’s name pays tribute to the original Whiteleas-based Swainston’s sweet shop and John has expressed how much it means to bring it to the national stage.
He added: “We’re so proud to have this shop in South Shields so we want to encourage anyone who sees it on the show to come and visit the town.
“To see Mr Swainston’s name on a national stage is hard to process.
“When you think of Dragons’ Den, you think of people who have come up with an invention.
“We haven’t invented anything but we’ve created something so this was about stepping into the Den to present nostalgia, history and tradition.
“I think because we’re a sweet shop, no one expects the announcement to be Dragons’ Den.”
‘This is our baby’
The shop has been teasing the announcement on their social media pages and Sean has expressed his excitement seeing people’s reactions when they find out that it’s Dragons’ Den.
He commented: “This is our baby and we’ve brought it to South Shields - now it is going to be everywhere and I can’t wait.
“We’ve been teasing the announcement and some of the guesses have been really good but so far, no one has said that it will be Dragons’ Den.”
Mr Swainston’s Dragons’ Den episode is due to air on Thursday, August 20, at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
You can keep up to date with the shop at: https://www.facebook.com/mrswainstons.