DRAGONS' Den star Duncan Bannatyne was keeping a low profile last night after it emerged he had turned down an idea that had gone on to be a huge success.

Rachel Lowe, a failure from one of the shows, is predicted to make £2m this year after signing deals to produce games for Warner Bros and Disney Pixar.

One of her chief critics when she went on the BBC2 show, in 2004, was Darlington businessman Duncan Bannatyne.

Ms Lowe, a 29-year-old former taxi driver, went on the show to find investment for her boardgame, Destination.

But her product was rubbished by the multi-millionaire guru, who told her she did not know her market, had little financial knowledge, and did not know the difference between profit and loss.

She said: "They almost bypassed the product.

"Doug Richard didn't think my Hamleys plans were very good - but it ended up being Hamleys' bestseller.

"Duncan Bannatyne didn't think I would get any press coverage - but I got loads of coverage, including ITN, BBC Breakfast News and several national newspapers.

"Rachel Elnaugh didn't think I could possibly compete with Monopoly - but I outsold it in Hamleys and became its number one game."

Since going on the show, her board game, based around the exploits of a taxi driver, has had 15 editions.

It is not the first time the Dragons' Den experts' opinions have been shown to be wrong.

Yesterday, The Northern Echo reported how Barnard Castle-based confectioner Chocpix had been awarded a contract to make chocolates to be supplied with official red noses for Comic Relief.

Frank Lia, the managing director, was told the business would be a waste of money when he went on the show in 2005.

Last night, only a few hours before the latest series of Dragons' Den went on air, Mr Bannatyne was unavailable for comment.

However, a spokesman said: "Based on past experience, they don't really comment on their failures on the show."