How to watch Doctor Who online: stream every season for free around the world

Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks
(Image credit: BBC)

Want to know how to watch Doctor Who online? We've done the research and can help you find the best options to enjoy all seasons of the modern era and settle down to stream Doctor Who. That includes the New Year's special, 'Eve of the Daleks'.

Basically, this is a one-stop-shop on how to watch Doctor Who online wherever you are, no matter whether you're seeking out Jodie Whittaker's episodes or older favorites from Matt Smith or David Tennant. So let's get down to it, shall we? Here are all the latest options on how to stream Doctor Who online in the USA, UK, and beyond.

Watch Doctor Who online - USA

US flag

Recently, HBO Max seems to have bagged the Doctor Who collection away from BBC America. You'll find seasons 1-12 on HBO, but for some reason, the recent Revolution of the Daleks episode that recently aired to wrap up season 12 is still limited to BBC America. We imagine HBO Max will get it soon though.

HBO Max is really coming into its own with a selection of movies landing on the service at the same time as the cinema and its TV content now sports a rich selection including Game of Thrones, Westworld, The Flight Attendant, Lovecraft Country, Watchmen, The Sopranos, and much more. We've rounded up the latest offers and deals on our HBO Max prices guide.

How to watch Doctor Who online - UK

Streaming via the BBC iPlayer is by far the best option used by millions of UK viewers. iPlayer is available on smart TVs, mobile, tablet, iPad, laptop, streaming sticks, or gaming consoles. This is a neat option if the kids have taken over the living room TV because you picked up a sweet Nintendo Switch bundle lately. Or as another alternative, there's also the handy website TVPlayer.com which allows you to live stream a bunch of other UK freeview channels too.

If you use a VPN (see below), you'll be able to tune in from outside of the UK too, and enjoy watching Doctor Who online for free. 

Watch Doctor Who online for free around the world

If you're not in the UK, then geo-blocking is going to block access to free UK streaming services if you try and get access. Well, most of the time...

Thankfully for all you holiday-makers and business travellers, you can get your device to think it's back in the UK via a handy VPN app. A VPN changes your IP address to a country of your choice, opening up a world of local alternative streaming options. VPNs are excellent for boosting your online privacy and security settings too from malicious snoopers.

There are lots (too many!) of VPN providers out there and we've tested a wide range of them on our best VPN for Netflix guide and found that ExpressVPN not only comes out on top for streaming global content but we find it's got the best selection of reliable server locations to connect to around the world along with reassuring privacy options. We especially love how the app can be set to automatically protect you on any public Wi-Fi, making browsing and shopping online less risky at a cafe or on public transport. However, if you're planning on using an Amazon Fire TV Stick to watch the iPlayer, you'll find Express VPN incompatible with the BBC app, so we'd suggest the also excellent Nord VPN instead, especially as it's on offer at the moment too.

Follow these simple steps to get set up within minutes to get ready to watch Doctor Who online:

cheap express vpn deals

1: Get a cheap VPN installed from $6.67/£5.50 per month
There's a great offer on right now where you can get an additional three months FREE on a 12-month package and save 49% (shorter packages are available too). ExpressVPN works on a massive range of devices like laptops, MacBooks, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, iPhone, Android mobiles and more. ExpressVPN is also offering a 30-day money back guarantee, which is great if you change your mind and decide the VPN isn't for you.

2: Connect the server to the relevant location
So for Doctor Who on the iPlayer, that would be anywhere in the UK. A London server is usually the default, but you can pick any of the British city suggestions it offers.

3: Head over to BBC iPlayer
This free UK service allows you to stream Doctor Who online and we're talking every season.

How to watch old Doctor Who episodes and seasons

The BBC iPlayer has all 12 seasons of Doctor Who since the revival of the show in 2005. If you want to really wind back the clocks though, then you might be interested to know that the new streaming service, BritBox, has all the classic episodes starting in the 1960s. Naturally, you'll need to turn on your VPN to get around any geo-restrictions involved.

(Image credit: Future)
Brendan Griffiths

Brendan is GamesRadar's former Managing Editor of the Hardware & eCommerce team. He also spent time as the Deals Editor at our sister site, TechRadar. He's obsessed with finding the best tech, games, gadgets, and hardware at the lowest price. He also spends way too much of his free time trying to decide what new things to watch on Netflix, then just rewatches It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia instead. Nowadays you'll find him as the eCommerce Content Director for Future's mobile tech sites, Android Central, iMore, and Windows Central.