TWO Skipton businesswomen are have reached the final six of a television series to find the country's next tycoon.

Helen James and Cathy Caudwell-Todd, who run Girlie Gardening are being filmed for the TV series being run by entrepreneur Peter Jones, one of the panellists on TV's Dragon Den which will be shown next month.

"We have moved to London for the duration of the filming - our new office is in Oxo Tower on the Southbank and our new home is a penthouse flat on Westminster Bridge," said Cathy.

"We have left behind two husbands, seven children and many pets, which is slightly worrying."

Every week the two women are given an objective by Mr Jones.

In week one, they had to come up with a garden-related brand that was suitable for an upmarket high street.

"We were hugely successful with this objective. Peter absolutely loved our Sod the Garden range, incorporating Sod Men, Sod Women and Little Sod for Kids, calling it brilliant and outstanding," said Cathy.

The week two challenge was to provide samples and again Mr Jones was impressed with their efforts, saying it was unbelievable what they had achieved in the time available.

The next objective was to open a shop within Oxo Tower.

"This was one of our easier objectives - again Peter was amazed, and believe me, he is not easy to please. This man is 6ft 7ins and terrifying," said Cathy.

For week four, the pair had to get their products into a high quality retailer and get TV gardener Charlie Dimmock to endorse the Sod the Garden range.

"We have met with Charlie Dimmmock and the outcome is looking successful. We now have to confirm contracts with her agent.

"We have also met with the manageress of Rackhams and she is very enthusiastic concerning the Sod the Garden brand and we wait with baited breath as she has taken the idea to her national buyer.

"If her proposals are accepted then we hope to have a major launch from the Skipton store.

"In the meantime we are delighted to say that the entire range will be stocked by Fanny Adams and Base. We are very pleased that these are our first independent shops," said Cathy.

The last two tasks have yet to be revealed.

To celebrate the successful start to their tycoon quest, the two women were whisked away in Peter Jones' Bentley to the red-carpet award ceremony, the Greatest Britons.

"We mixed with stars including Dame Helen Mirren and David Beckham and it was a most exciting and glamorous night," said Cathy.

Tycoon! will be aired for six consecutive weeks, beginning this month, leading to a live final in July where viewers vote for the best company.

And the voters of the winning company will each receive a share and the winning company will become a PLC.

Cathy added: "As you can imagine, Tycoon! is set to be a massive hit and we are very excited to be part of it."