From new BBC dramas like This Town and the return of the popular police procedural set in Northern Ireland Blue Lights, those in the UK also get to watch Married at First Sight Australia completely for free on Channel 4. Let's not forget Love Island, which is sure to make its summer return after the Love Island: All Stars spin-off earlier this year. There's a lot to watch and be excited about, but if you're a UK citizen on vacation or an expat working overseas looking to watch UK TV online, I hate to break it to you but you're going to be a bit stuck.
Hot UK TV Shows Right Now!
Blue Lights Season 2 – Cops in Belfast battle against Northern Ireland capital's increasing gang crime. 88% Rotten Tomatoes
This Town – From the producers behind Peaky Blinders, four young people are drawn into the 70s and 80s music scene of Birmingham. 62% on Rotten Tomatoes
Race Across the World Season 4 – The UK's answer to The Amazing Race, siblings, friends, and couples journey from Japan to Indonesia with no phone and a strict budget.
That's because there are geo-restrictions on some of the biggest streaming platforms, including BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and Channel 4. Not only that, you'll struggle to maintain access to your UK-based subscriptions like NOW as well as the aforementioned free services all TV licence paying Brits can otherwise watch to their heart's content. But I have the answer, and and that's the use of a VPN.
Sounds technical, right? But I'm here to help explain how it works and ensure you can watch your native channels no matter where you are in the world. In this case, being able to watch UK TV online outside of the country.
Why do I need a VPN to watch UK TV online overseas?
When it comes to watching just about any streaming platform, you are at the mercy of licensing agreements. From country to country, different platforms will have the distribution rights to certain shows, movies, and even sports. To control this, platforms have geo-block infrastructure in place to prevent anyone accessing their service outside of the country.
For BBC iPlayer, you might be presented with the message: "BBC iPlayer only works in the UK. Sorry, it’s due to rights issues."
Essentially, then, anyone outside of the UK can't watch anything on BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, and the like's libaries, and will likely have to pay for another streaming service in the country you're residing in. For instance, while you can watch Normal People on BBC iPlayer in the UK, you'll need a Hulu subscription in the States to watch the Sally Rooney adaptation. Similarly, if you're abroad in the US when the next season of Love Island UK is on, you'd have to watch it via a Peacock subscription rather than on the free platform, ITVX (and deal with a significant delay, too!)
A VPN (short for virtual private network) can work around this. Long story short, a VPN is a piece of software you can download on just about any device (desktop, smartphone, etc), connect to a location in the UK (VPNs have thousands of servers with locations based around the world). This will conceal your actual IP address (Internet Protocol) and make it seem as if you're browsing in the UK.
Which VPN is best for unblocking and watching UK TV online?
Our sister site, Tom's Guide, ranks NordVPN as the best VPN overall and in particular for streaming and unblocking. In its NordVPN review, it states: "Streaming performance is becoming increasingly important, and it's clear that NordVPN has put a lot of effort into delivering a good service to its users," able to unblock top streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney Plus, BBC iPlayer, and ITVX.
When it comes to helping CinemaBlend readers find out how to watch their favorite shows from anywhere, then, we always recommend NordVPN as the service to use when trying to unblock platforms while away from home.
Step-by-Step guide: How to Use a VPN to Unblock Streaming Services:
1. Choose and install a VPN – as mentioned, our go-to service to recommend for unblocking is NordVPN, costing from $3.99 a month with its 2-year plan.
2. Connect to a server – NordVPN has over 6,000 servers based across 100+ countries. For UK TV services, you'll want to connect to a server based in the UK.
3. Go to the platform you wish to access – to watch UK TV, visit platforms like BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and more.
Can I Watch UK TV Abroad For Free Without a VPN?
The only way to legally access UK TV abroad for free is by circumventing geo-restrictions with a VPN as long as you are accessing these services as you would while back home. Of course, you must bear in mind to watch UK TV live you'll need a TV licence in the UK. This also goes for watching BBC iPlayer's on-demand library. Any other methods of accessing free streams for UK content while overseas are likely forms of piracy.
