[Red Moon]

TV Dragon: I'm in for bit on the side

DRAGONS’ Den star Duncan Bannatyne is today exposed as a sleazy love cheat and liar who hides behind a family man image.

The father of six met pretty Lisa Ford, 23, at one of his own hotels just hours before his devoted wife turned up.

Bannatyne — famed for telling would-be entrepreneurs “I’m in” or “I’m out” on the BBC show — contacted Lisa through the Facebook website.

Bannatyne, 59, bombarded the driving instructor with text messages that would shock his legion of fans, then invited her to his Bannatyne Spa Hotel in Hastings, East Sussex, last Thursday night.

The Scot, who has a £200million fortune, propositioned her — but she snubbed him.

The seedy liaison is a world away from his carefully constructed public image of a loving family man.

He has paraded his wife Joanne McCue and children in glossy magazines, most recently in August. And when he wed in 2006 he showed off his family across the pages of OK! magazine.

Shortly afterwards Bannatyne told how the marriage followed a two-year split, explaining: “You always think the grass is greener.

“I wanted to be a playboy. I spent a couple of years dating different women, including an actress and a newsreader. I had a lot of girlfriends.

“But I wanted to be back with Joanne and the kids. She’s no reason to worry. I’ve got it out of my system.”

Last year Bannatyne again stressed: “I’ve got to be absolutely faithful now — monogamy it is.”

In his autobiography he described himself as an “extremely happily married man”, and updated the paperback edition to recall how Joanne looked “completely gorgeous” as they tied the knot.

While making decisions about business deals on Dragons’ Den, he has often brought up being a husband and father of six.

And when our sister newspaper the News of the World ran a story about one of his women during his two years apart from Joanne, he threatened to sue for libel and invasion of privacy.

Yet while threatening those proceedings, he happily booked sexy Lisa into a hotel room next door to his — despite knowing Joanne was due at the refurbished hotel to help him with a relaunch.

He had met starstruck Lisa through a mutual friend on the networking site the previous weekend.

That was followed by five days of flirting by text — and a phone call from Bannatyne.

Lisa said: “I couldn’t believe it. I recognised his voice immediately and within minutes he was asking to meet up.”

Bannatyne found out where Lisa was giving a driving lesson and turned up in his chauffeur-driven car to shout from the window: “Hi gorgeous — can’t wait to see you tonight!”

Lisa, from Ashford, Kent, said: “It was so bizarre. I had to tell my pupil we were meeting later on business. It was crazy.”

She went on: “At the hotel I said to him, ‘So how long have you been with your wife then?’ He said, ‘About 12 years.’”

But Bannatyne continued: “Don’t worry about her.”

When Lisa asked why he was in a hotel room with a girl when he was married, he replied: “Because you’re sexy. I need a girlfriend.”

Lisa told The Sun: “I realised he was after just one thing and I never want to see him again.

“I was flattered because he’s on the telly, but forget the family man you see. He wanted sex. When I turned him down he just said, ‘I’m not used to that.’

“All he cared about was himself. I asked if we could go for a meal and he said no, but I could go downstairs and get something if I wanted. He wouldn’t even get me room service.

“As I tried to leave to get some food he asked me for sex, which I refused. By then I’d had enough so I got in my car and drove off.

“I was in such a hurry I actually left my coat there. He can have it.”

Bannatyne — who started his empire of hotels, spas and property with just one ice cream van — had also invited the other Dragons to his relaunch party.

Lisa arrived just after 9.15pm and went up to the room he had arranged for her.

On her drive over, he had said he would run her a bath and prepare a drink of Malibu. But in fact, after some initial kissing, Lisa decided to leave. Bannatyne lives with his wife between homes in the North East, London, Scotland and France.

His tough talking on Dragons’ Den made him a household name. He has written two big-selling self-help books and yesterday went on Simon Mayo’s BBC Radio 5 Live show to plug his new TV series Beat the Bank, which starts tonight on BBC2.

He told the six million listeners: “I’m a very happily married man with a beautiful wife.” And speaking of his family he added: “There’s nothing else is there? That’s all you live for.”

Asked what he would have done if had been born into money, he said: “I’d probably have been a playboy for about 20 years and lost it all.”

Source: The Sun