Diary of a CEO host and Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett has been named as a guest Shark on the hit US business reality TV show Shark Tank.

The announcement is seen as a huge step forward in Bartlett’s attempts to crack America.

The 33-year-old, who has been a regular on Dragons’ Den since 2022, has been spending a growing amount of his time in the US growing his new business, Steven.com.

Last year, Steven.com announced it had closed a major eight-figure investment in a deal that valued the business at $425m (£320m).

Steven.com is a new entity incorporated in the US and serves as the new parent company for all of Bartlett’s existing creator businesses, including FlightStory.

Move over: Steven Bartlett will be appearing alongside Shark Tank regulars Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, Daniel Lubetzky and Kevin O’Leary

Bartlett is expected to make his debut on the show in the opening episode of the latest series, alongside regular Sharks Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, Daniel Lubetzky and Kevin O’Leary.

Bartlett shared the news on his social media channels today, including a video of a phone conversation with his mum.

He said: “This was a dream of mine and my mum’s… let me explain.

“My Nigerian mum raised four of us without being able to read or write herself, having left school when she was a child in Nigeria.

“I struggled with school too – I wasn’t a smart kid and couldn’t pay attention, so I quickly realised the ‘traditional path’ wasn’t going to work for someone like me.

“Then, when I was 12 years old, I discovered Dragons’ Den. Me and my mum both fell in love with the show.

“Looking back, I think entrepreneurship offered us both hope – a path to a better life for people like us, who couldn’t pass tests in a classroom but were willing to work hard.

“At 12 I would pause the TV and give my verdict, as if I was the sixth Dragon.

“By 16 I’d discovered Shark Tank and was starting my first (terrible) businesses.

“By 18 I was a university dropout with a start-up.

“And somehow, nine years later, I ended up sitting in one of those Dragons’ Den chairs I used to shout at from our sofa.

“My mum has never fully gotten over it.

“I know she’s always wanted me to do Shark Tank, so this phone call – telling her that day had come – absolutely made my day, and hopefully hers too!”