Reality star and podcaster Jamie Laing is said to be taking his millions and business expertise to Dragons’ Den. The former Made in Chelsea star co-founded vegan sweet company Candy Kittens in 2012 to huge success, while his great-great-grandfather, Alexander Grant, created the McVitie’s digestive biscuit in 1892. While technically not an heir to the biscuit throne after his father, Nicholas, sold his McVitie’s shares in the 1990s, it is fair to say business runs in Jamie’s family – one day, he would love to ‘acquire McVitie’s and bring it back’.
So, the TV personality, also a great-nephew of Lord Laing of Dunphail, is reportedly keen to dish out his knowledge to other budding entrepreneurs. According to the Daily Mail, Jamie will reportedly be a guest investor on the upcoming 23rd series of the hit BBC business show, but it remains to be seen what style of Dragon he will be. The role means he will follow in the footsteps of the likes of former footballer Gary Neville, fitness guru Joe Wicks, and TV star Trinny Woodall in becoming a celebrity panellist and investing his own money into the ventures being pitched.
What is Jamie Laing’s net worth, and how successful is he?
While an exact figure is unknown, it is said that Jamie is worth around £7-10 million on his own. A large chunk of his wealth comes from his gourmet confectionery company, which he launched with friend Ed Williams. Proving deliciously lucrative, Candy Kittens, which sells vegan and vegetarian sweets in flavours like lemon sherbet and Eton Mess, had a £15 million turnover in 2024, up from £12 million in 2023. The company has also branched out in recent times, selling merchandise and even scented air fresheners. Then, last December, Candy Kittens acquired healthy snack brand Graze, having purchased it from Unilever in a deal expected to be worth around £36 million. Thanks to the purchase of Graze, Candy Kittens’ overall size has increased by 300%.
Jamie, who became publicly known when he joined the Made in Chelsea cast in 2011, has spoken openly about business and his rise to fame over the years. He previously admitted that he took a huge ‘risk’ by signing up for the E4 reality series, as he already had a job offer from elsewhere but hated the idea of doing the same thing week in, week out. The 37-year-old recalled in an interview with The Big Issue: ‘I remember going to bed that night and knowing my future with the job opportunity. I knew where I would end up, what I would be doing next week and every week after that. I thought, “That cannot be life.” So I took Made in Chelsea because I did not know what would happen. It was such a risk.’
Jamie and his wife, Sophie Habboo, who have a five-month-old son, Ziggy, and live in a £4.1 million London home, also make their money with joint hosting gigs, having recently interviewed stars on the Baftas red carpet. Additionally, their podcast, NewlyParents, has amassed a loyal listenership, having rebranded after Sophie became pregnant to talk more about their journey to parenthood as well as their marriage. It marks one of several podcaster positions for Jamie, who currently helms Great Company, too. In April this year, he and Sophie had their own Disney+ show, Raising Chelsea, an intimate three-parter chronicling the messy and hilarious reality of starting a family.
On exposing the ups and downs of his everyday life, Jamie has insisted that he ‘does not mind’ people seeing behind closed doors. ‘I filmed everything as a kid. I was always happy to show everything, so I was already ready for the social media age. I never worried what people thought of me; I never had an ego or cared about being embarrassed. And if you are like that, you are going to be quite good at reality TV and letting the public into your life.’
And as if all of that was not enough for Jamie to laugh all the way to the bank, he is a regular on BBC Radio 1 as well, initially replacing Mollie King during her maternity leave before taking over from Jordan North on the Going Home show. Further TV stints like Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity Bake Off, and Celebrity Hunted have kept him in the public eye, and he is no stranger to an online brand deal for an extra bit of side hustling on Instagram, where he boasts 1.7 million followers. Basically, Jamie has his fingers in multiple pies and is consistently raking it in, so a seat in the Dragons’ Den perhaps seems like a natural next step.
The BBC has been contacted for comment.
