DEBORAH Meaden insisted the South West is a hotbed of entrepreneurial talent as she reflected on the highs and lows of her business career in front of a live audience in Exeter.

Around 150 businesspeople, students and NSPCC supporters had the chance to quiz the Dragon's Den star at an event to raise funds for the charity's South West Child's Voice Appeal, which she chairs.

With former ITV Westcountry presenter Mark Tyler hosting the discussion, Deborah spoke about her experiences on the hit BBC show and gave her views on business success.

The businesswoman from Somerset, who ran Exeter-based Weststar Holidays, said she resented the patronising perception of the South West as a sleepy backwater.

"I spend a lot of time all over the country and you can see people thinking I go back to Somerset to relax," she said. "It drives me potty.

"I have a view that it's much easier to have a successful business when you have a lot of people around you.

"I have met the most entrepreneurial people I have ever met in the regions because you have to be a lot cannier."

Deborah vowed never to write an autobiography, describing it as "the surest way to fall out with friends and family".

Samantha Thorne- Stone, who won a pair of tickets to the event in an Echo reader competition, asked Deborah what had been the most important lesson she has ever learned in business.

Deborah replied: "It's probably understanding exactly what it is that makes a business tick.

"I learned very quickly that you can lose sight of that, and I learned to remind myself 'What am I doing here? What does this business do?'."

A charity auction with lots including a bespoke souvenir Echo front page, hospitality at an Exeter City match, golf for four at Woodbury Park and a break at the Palace Hotel in Torquay raised around £1,000.

Urging those present to lend their support to the South West Child's Voice Appeal — which aims to raise £1.6m to ensure more calls to ChildLine get answered at the charity's regional base in Exeter — Deborah said: "I got involved with this charity because it was in our region and it's the children in our region who are in the greatest need. We know one third of the calls that are attempted don't get through. In my business if we didn't answer one per cent of calls I would have gone loopy, and I was only dealing in profit. I wasn't dealing in children's lives.

"Times are tough but the truth is we can all do something. I know there's a lot of people in this room who are involved in the Dragon's Challenge, and that's fantastic because that will make meaningful chunks of cash.

"What I would like you to do is to think 'What am I going to commit to doing either personally or as a business?'."

To get involved with the Child's Voice Appeal in the South West, email southwestappeals@ nspcc.org.uk or telephone 01823 346346.