Is Steven Bartlett's empire showing signs of crumbling? The ever-growing list of controversies surrounding Dragons' Den star as he quietly steps down from Huel

He's a successful entrepreneur and the youngest-ever Dragon on BBC's Dragons' Den. But despite his early successes, 32-year-old Steven Bartlett, whose podcast Diary of CEO reportedly rakes in a monthly audience of 15 million, has suffered multiple recent career blows. Last Summer, his nutrition adverts with Zoe and Huel were banned by a watchdog for being 'misleading'. Days later, the entrepreneur was savagely mocked online after an old video of him engaging in a rap battle resurfaced.

Steven - who is also the founder of ThirdWeb, Flight Story and Flight Fund as well as, previously, the Social Chain - was then condemned by health experts for sharing harmful health information on his podcast that could put cancer patients at risk. Soon after, the BBC was hit with more than 500 Ofcom complaints following an episode of Dragon's Den that saw contestant Gisele Boxer secure six offers after claiming she cured her ME with acupressure ear seeds. She picked Steven, who is said to be worth some £70million, to support her company.

Controversy surfaced when it emerged that the founder had changed the company's name and had Steven's brother listed as a director instead of him a week after her episode aired. The Dragon's career trajectory took a further turn this week after it was revealed that he had stepped down from his position as the director of Huel, a fast-growing meal replacement brand. He's the youngest-ever judge to feature on Dragons' Den, but the tide might be turning on Steven Bartlett, following multiple controversies, including him being mocked for a rap video (pictured).

Nutrition adverts banned for being misleading. Steven's nutrition adverts for Zoe and Huel were banned by advertising watchdog for being 'misleading' last year. Three sponsored posts were shared on Facebook in February and March in which the Dragons Den's star praised the products from the health science brands. However, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) later claimed that the ads were 'misleading' as they did not make it clear that Bartlett had a financial interest in both brands.

He is an investor in Zoe and was a Huel director at the time. Both Huel and Zoe disputed the ban, arguing it is clear from the ads there is a commercial relationship and that consumers do not need to know the 'exact nature' of those relationships. An advert for nutrition brand Zoe featuring Dragons' Den star Steven Bartlett was banned for failing to disclose their commercial relationship with the celebrity entrepreneur.

Until recently, the 32-year-old Dragons' Den judge was also a director at meal-replacement brand Huel. The advert for Zoe, which offers health testing and dietary advice services, featured an image of Bartlett with a Zoe patch on his arm, with text in the form of a quote from Steven which stated: 'If you haven't tried Zoe yet, give it a shot. It might just change your life.'. Defending the ad, Zoe said the average consumer would understand that there was a commercial relationship if a celebrity appeared in an ad for a brand, and argued that the consumer did not need to know the exact nature of that relationship.

Zoe said that if it was obliged to include a specific disclosure about the nature of Steven's status as an investor in Zoe, this would have a wider impact on other brands and influencers. The ASA says it received two complaints that it wasn't clear from the advert that he had a commercial interest in the company. Huel, known for its vitamin-enriched food items - whose ads featured Steven stating that its Daily Greens powder was the 'best product' it had released, argued that consumers had no doubt about the existence of such commercial relationships when they saw the endorsement within a paid-for ad taken out by a company.

Hayley Knight - co-founder and Communications Director at BE YELLOW PR agency commented: 'Though you can't deny that he has achieved a lot for someone his age, he has also received a lot of backlash over his business and business decisions. 'I think one of the main issues for Steven is overexposure, and his self promotion, meaning people may be becoming fatigued and sceptical with him and his content.

'With his profile, also comes great responsibility, which with the recent advertising news, and previous claims of financial misleadings and spreading misinformation on his podcast, people feel that he is taking advantage of his following, and becoming arrogant. Mocked over resurfaced footage of a rap battle. Footage of a young Steven Bartlett (pictured) taking part in a rap battle resurfaced on social media, shocking fans of The Diary of a CEO and Dragons' Den star.

Things got worse for Steven, as fans were left stunned by resurfaced footage of the entrepreneur taking part in a rap battle as a youngster. In the clip, Bartlett can be seen rapping as his alter-ego, Lyricist, and taking the project very seriously. His rap featured lyrics about the potato famine including: 'You're Ireland's only last hope when it comes to rapping. 'Considering the fact you're such a blatant cabbage, Ireland are going to lose another precious vegetable like the potato famine.'.