Bannatyne put off by fellow fire breathers

Jan 25 2008

Scots tycoon Duncan Bannatyne has revealed he refuses to socialise with his Dragon's Den colleagues - because they smoke.

The entrepreneur, who made his fortune from health clubs, said he finds it difficult to mix with the fellow fire-breathing millionaires because of their dirty habit.

He said he often meets co-stars James Caan and Richard Farleigh while he and his family sun themselves at his six-bedroom villa with pool in Cannes, France.

But the businessman revealed that smoking has caused a rift between the stars of the cult BBC 2 show in which budding entrepreneurs pitch for cash investment from the team of dragons.

The fiercely anti-smoking father-of-six said he refused to mingle with smokers Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones.

He said: "I used to meet Richard a lot because he has got a place in Monte Carlo. He used to bring the kids to my pool. I've met James Caan for dinner because he has got a place in Cannes.

"The others...well, Peter has a place in Portugal and Theo's got a place in Spain but I don't like Puerto Banus and don't go there so I don't meet them abroad. Another problem is that they smoke and I just find it hard to socialise with people who smoke."

Bannatyne is known for his outspoken views on health and fitness and caused a stir when he admitted he would not employ someone who did not look after themselves.

He said overweight employees couldn't think or work as fast as their slimmer colleagues and would "just smoke cigarettes or stuff themselves with pies" rather than apply themselves to a job.

Bannatyne has become a rags to riches story after he amassed an empire of health and fitness studios, hotels and casinos.