Gary Neville reduced a Dragons’ Den couple to tears after agreeing to invest a whopping £50,000 into their business and praising their ‘amazing’ story.

The former Manchester United star and football pundit promised to back entrepreneurs Lottie Whyte and Joe Gray, both 34, from London, after admitting he had been wowed by their story.

The husband and wife appeared on the BBC show last night to market Myo Master, a sports recovery company supplying athletes with tools to properly rehabilitate following an injury.

The astute couple – who share a son together – were sparked by the idea when Joe, a former trophy-winning rugby player who played for England, sustained devastating injuries, including one at age 17 that almost cost him his leg.

Joe’s story touched the hearts of many dragons, namely Gary who was so moved he offered the pair £50,000 – half of their initial ask of £100,000 – for a five per cent stake.

This is the emotional moment Gary Neville reduced Dragons’ Den contestant Lottie Whyte (pictured) to tears

Heaping praise onto the couple, he said: ‘Joe I think I like your story. And Lottie you are unbelievable. You are absolutely incredible – you are a class act.

‘And I’ve never met anybody under interrogation and you’re getting emotional as well which has just pushed me over the edge’.

He then joked: ‘Never make an emotional investment!’

The tearful moment happened after Lottie made an astounding impression on the dragons owing to her shrewd business sense. 

During questioning by the panel, she reeled off an endless list of facts and numbers including details of profits and funding by Google – but never once cracked under pressure. 

Gary’s kind words got to Lottie and her composure immediately melted into a flood of tears.

So impressed was Gary that he agreed to offer the pair ‘half’ of their requested funding.

He said: ‘So I will offer you half the money for five per cent but I would want another Dragon in with me.’

The former Manchester United star and football pundit promised to back entrepreneurs Lottie Whyte and her husband Joe Gray, both 34, from London, after admitting he ‘liked’ their story

Joe (left) and Lottie appeared on the hit BBC 1 show last night to market Myo Master, a sports recovery company supplying athletes with tools to properly rehabilitate following an injury

A happy Joe responded ‘thank you very much’ – but Lottie appeared speechless while tears continued to stream down her face.

Following suit were Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones and Sara Davies who were so impressed, they doubled Gary’s offer and instead promised a staggering £100,000 each.

All business moguls said they would be more than happy to reduce their stake by 50 per cent if their investment was returned in a year.

Joe, a former England and Harlequins rugby player suffered an agonising 12 major injuries spanning his professional career. 

With the incentive to hopefully kickstart his career, he began experimenting at home using various items like a drill and a wooden stool eager to create something that would ease the tension in his legs and feet.

Gary’s kind words got to Lottie and her ice-like composure immediately melted into a flood of tears

Joe, a former trophy-winning rugby player who played for England, was riddled by devastating injuries, including one at age 17 that almost cost him his leg

Joe’s story touched the hearts of many dragons, namely Gary who was so moved he offered the pair £50,000 – and of course they were very pleased

Little did he know that it would go on to become the first ever prototype of the MyPro, a recovery power tool that uses ‘ripple effect’ technology to carry out a deep massage on the affected parts, writes the Myo Master website.

The business has gone from strength to strength, turning over a staggering £1 million in the last quarter and securing a cash injection from Google’s Black Founders Fund.

His wife Lottie ditched a high profile job in advertising and communications shortly into her pregnancy in 2019 to focus on her husband’s invention.

According to Bazaar, she left behind senior roles at Hanbury Strategy and M&C Saatchi, where she was the youngest ever board member, but for her it was well worth it.

She said to the magazine: ‘I worked in some incredible businesses, but I just didn’t feel like I was changing the world,.

‘Now, I get to get up every day feeling like I’m actually making a difference to people’s lives’.