Want to stream the latest episode of Peaky Blinders? Need to know what happens to Thomas Shelby in season 6? This guide shows you how and where to watch Peaky Blinders, and why a VPN is the best tool for the job.
How can I watch Peaky Blinders with a VPN?
Right now, the only way to catch Season 6 of this popular series is live on BBC TV, or on iPlayer. Normally, this would mean you need to be a TV license holder based in the UK and that if you're based overseas, you're out of luck! Luckily, this can be fixed by using a VPN to change your location so you appear to be in the UK. The best part is this doesn't have to cost a fortune, and you'll be set up in just a couple of minutes. Here's how you can access the BBC iPlayer with a VPN in four easy steps:
- Choose a VPN capable of accessing iPlayer. We've recommended the best services for accessing iPlayer below, so be sure to pick the one that suits you best.
- Download and install the software/app on your device.
- Connect to a VPN server in the UK to access Peaky Blinders on BBC iPlayer – for other streaming services, choose a server in a different country (if you need to).
- Go to BBC iPlayer (you may need to create an account) and enjoy the latest episodes.
Here's a quick list of the best services for accessing Peaky Blinders on BBC iPlayer:
- ExpressVPN - The best VPN for unblocking BBC iPlayer. Express has thousands of servers to choose from, all supported with a 30-day risk-free money-back guarantee.
- NordVPN - NordVPN is the best mid-range VPN, boasting over 5,200 servers to ensure you can always get access to the BBC iPlayer.
- Surfshark - The best value-for-money VPN for watching Peaky Blinders, with enough connections for every device you might want to use and a money-back guarantee.
- Private Internet Access - Private Internet Access is an easy-to-use VPN with great security options and even a full-featured Linux app.
- CyberGhost VPN - CyberGhost is a quality VPN provider offering 7 simultaneous connections, so everyone can watch BBC iPlayer at the same time.
For more information on the best services for unblocking iPlayer and watching the latest season of Peaky Blinders, keep scrolling to our in-depth analysis.
Where to watch Peaky Blinders Season 6?
If you're not planning on watching the latest series when it airs on live television, BBC iPlayer is the only place showing Season 6 of the world-famous show. However, Netflix has the rights to show all previous seasons if you need to catch up on story events before you dive into the new ones. At the moment, we have no idea when/if this final season will also make its way to other streaming platforms, but by using a VPN, you won't need to wait weeks or months for it to make its way there.
How will BBC iPlayer know I'm not in the UK?
Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and other sites can tell which country you are connecting from by checking your IP address. An IP address is a unique numerical code that your internet provider assigns to every user and every internet-enabled device on its network. While the BBC does stream some of its content in other countries around the world, a lot of its programming is only available through the iPlayer, which would normally mean it's only available to people within the UK.
This is where a VPN comes into play. With a VPN, you can connect to servers located in other countries around the world, routing your internet traffic through the VPN provider's server. So if you connect to a VPN server based in the UK, when the iPlayer tries to query your IP address to see where you are, it will find an IP address that appears to be in the UK, leaving you free to access all the BBC's content.
What are the best VPNs for Peaky Blinders?
The VPN industry is chock-full of service, with each one claiming to be the best VPN provider! But how do you know which ones are legit? Which ones are above board, actually walk the walk and talk the talk? We've hand-picked five of the industry's best VPNs that'll have you streaming Peaky Blinders and more in no time! These services are quick, easy to use, and have servers in the US and UK so you can access more than just BBC iPlayer.
If you're new to the world of VPNs, and need a little help to understand why using one can make your digital life more secure, be sure to visit our 'what is a VPN' guide for a jargon-free explanation.
ExpressVPN is the best VPN for unblocking BBC iPlayer, with an impressive range of locations worldwide ensuring you can always watch Season 6 of Peaky Blinders, whether you're at home or on the go. ExpressVPN Demo ExpressVPN is a well-known and well-respected provider that's been around for over 10 years now. Offering over 160 different locations spread across 105 countries
, it's a great choice not only for streaming, but for regular web browsing and gaming too. With many locations in the UK offering speeds more than fast enough for streaming HD content, ExpressVPN is ideal for folks who want to watch all sorts of BBC content, including Peaky Blinders. A VPN also allows you to prevent ISP throttling. "Throttling" is the term used to describe an ISP deliberately restricting someone's internet connection – which can be a real problem when you're right in the middle of an episode! The last thing you want is the picture freezing or lagging because your ISP has decided that you've been streaming too much video. ExpressVPN scores full marks for its security, boasting tough AES 256-bit encryption and several protocols, like OpenVPN, that'll stop any nosy snoopers peeking at what you're up to and what you might be watching. If you do a lot of streaming (of Peaky Blinders, for example!), you may also want to consider ExpressVPN's very own proprietary protocol, Lightway, which is based on the WireGuard protocol – the latest and greatest in VPN technology! Using a VPN means your ISP can't see what you're doing online, too. The ISP won't know you're streaming, which means you can sit and watch every episode as soon as it airs without worrying about getting cut off midway through. ExpressVPN offers an easy-to-use app and a solid and reliable toolkit for anyone looking to secure their online presence while also offering access to geo-locked services such as BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Amazon Video, and more. Its fast connections and choice of locations ensure worry-free viewing no matter where you might be, so even if you're traveling overseas, you'll always be able to connect to a UK server to make sure you never miss an episode of Peaky Blinders! NordVPN is the best mid-range VPN for unblocking BBC iPlayer, with plenty of locations around the world, support for 6 simultaneous connections, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Nord Demo NordVPN is another popular and well-known VPN provider with locations in more than 111 countries
. It offers dozens of UK-based servers to pick from to make sure you'll be able to unblock the BBC iPlayer and never need to worry about missing a single episode of Peaky Blinder's 6th season. NordVPN is based in Panama (a country without government surveillance), too, and has a strict no-logs policy that'll ensure that your internet traffic remains completely private. As well as security and privacy, the biggest concern VPN users have is download speed. Nobody wants their online privacy to come at the price of the internet being so slow it's almost unusable, especially if your whole reason for using a VPN is to access season 6 of Peaky Blinders! Luckily, this isn't something you need to worry about with NordVPN. Our testing confirmed that NordVPN's network is more than quick enough for streaming and online gaming, and you can even check those results for yourself with our VPN Speed Testing Tool. NordVPN uses its own custom protocol called "NordLynx", which will allow you to stream all the BBC iPlayer content your heart could desire without the dreaded "buffering" message spoiling your day. It also ensures that any P2P/torrent activity can be carried out without needing to worry about download speeds, no matter where you are. NordVPN also unblocks more than just iPlayer. It works with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, and more. Nord comes with an in-built ad and malware blocker called Cybersec, too, to help keep your devices secure and do away with annoying adverts that prevent you from binging Peaky Blinders in peace. NordVPN has an impressive number of locations around the world to choose from. Nord has over 400 servers based in the UK alone, giving you a vast selection of servers to use when you want to stream BBC iPlayer content. NordVPN even supports multiple types of devices and secures their connections with AES-256 encryption, ensuring that nobody will peep on what you might be doing online, no matter what device you use. Surfshark is the best value-for-money VPN for streaming the BBC iPlayer, offering an unlimited number of simultaneous connections, supported by a 30-day money-back guarantee. Surfshark Demo Surfshark offers a compelling VPN package that's attracted a lot of happy users. With thousands of servers in 100 countries
, support for split-tunneling tools, multi-hop servers for extra security, and unlimited simultaneous connections, it's got something to keep everyone happy. And, no matter the size of your family, everyone can watch Peaky Blinders on their own devices at the same time. Surfshark is definitely one of the best VPNs out there when it comes to connections (and value for money). You can't ask for better than unlimited! A Surfshark subscription also includes a custom DNS service called Smart DNS, its own ad-blocker called CleanWeb, and even a privacy-first search tool called Surfshark Search! BBC iPlayer, Netflix, and Amazon Video – Surfshark can unblock them all. The addition of the Smart DNS feature means that you're not confined to watching Peaky Blinders on just your PC or phone, you can set up your smart TV to use Surfshark as well. Surfshark's SmartDNS feature is also included in your subscription free of charge, you'll just need to remember to apply it to your devices using the provider's handy guides. Like all of our top VPN choices for BBC iPlayer, Surfshark's customer service team is available 24/7 to deal with any issues that might crop up, and a 30-day money-back guarantee allows you plenty of time to get to grips with everything Surfshark offers. If you'd rather not pay upfront, then there's even a 7-day free trial for Android, iOS, and Mac devices. Private Internet Access is an excellent VPN for streaming BBC iPlayer, offering 10 simultaneous connections so everyone in the family can watch! PIA Demo Private Internet Access is a solid VPN provider that's been around since 2009. Despite being based in the USA, it's a no-logs provider, and has even proven this in court on several occasions. It's a great all-rounder, not only for those looking to stream Peaky Blinders from the iPlayer, but for torrenters and the security conscious as well, with plenty of customization options for those more demanding users. It's easy to get started with PIA, with user-friendly desktop and mobile apps; and with over tens of thousands of servers in 84 countries
, there's plenty of choice, no matter where you are in the world. PIA also sports 4 different server locations in the UK to make sure that you've got plenty of options when it comes to unblocking BBC iPlayer and other popular streaming sites. We've tested and confirmed that PIA also works with Netflix, Hulu, and more thanks to its "London Streaming Optimized" server. PIA offers apps for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux, and even for devices like Amazon's FireTV Stick. There's even SmartDNS functionality, which makes streaming geo-restricted content via your smart TV a breeze. The generous limit of ten simultaneous connections also ensures that you'll be able to cover every internet-connected device or gadget in the home. For those based in less permissive parts of the world, PIA offers something known as a Shadowsocks proxy, which can reroute your internet traffic to ensure you're even more secure, and can get around China's Great Firewall and other nasty instances of censorship. This could be useful for folks trying to access the BBC iPlayer and other streaming services from countries that have strict internet restrictions. You can even put it to the test for yourself thanks to its 30-day money-back guarantee! Cyberghost offers 6,000 servers in 89 countries, ensuring you’ll always have a server to connect to and unblock BBC iPlayer, backed with a 45-day money-back guarantee. CyberGhost Demo CyberGhost might not be quite as feature-rich a provider as some others on this list, but it’s got an easy-to-use, no-nonsense app that does the job and has all the base-level security features we would expect from such a popular service. It's also pretty cheap too, which is a pleasant bonus - it won't set you back as much as some of the other providers on this list, an important point to consider when you’re shopping around. CyberGhost boasts thousands of servers in 100 countries
around the world, which is an impressive number of locations and servers, ensuring that no matter where you are you can find a server local to you. This is important when it’s a streaming service you want to unblock, such as BBC iPlayer. CyberGhost even tells you the websites that specific servers are optimized to unblock, which is a nice touch, and adds to the already impressive user-friendly aspect of the service. CyberGhost lacks a few of the bells and whistles of other providers on this list, and the lack of obfuscated servers means those who live in more restrictive parts of the world might be better off looking at one of our other recommendations. That said, it’s still got an impressive toolkit! Split-tunneling, a kill-switch, support for WireGuard, and even support for installation on your router for network-level protection (so you can automatically cover all devices connected to the router without having to install the VPN on each and every gadget). CyberGhost is not only more than fast enough to cope with streaming in HD (and even 4K), it's also got some features specifically catered to gamers, for when you need to wait for the next episode of Peaky Blinders to air! The latest version of the app lists gaming servers specifically for those who want to play online, and we’re pleased to say that they’re more than fast enough to keep up with fast-paced online games such as Overwatch and Counterstrike – so you never need to worry about dying thanks to high ping. 1. ExpressVPN
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What's Peaky Blinders about?
Peaky Blinders tells the story of a family of Irish-Romani gangsters in Birmingham in the UK. Written by Steven Knight (Dirty Pretty Things, Locke), the show has pulled in an impressive cast of character actors, including Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later, Sunshine), Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight, Inception), Helen McCrory (Harry Potter, The Queen) and Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Event Horizon).
The story begins in 1919, several months after the First World War in November 1918, and by season 6 has progressed all the way through to 1933 and the rise of the Nazi party in Germany. While the events of the show are fictitious, a real gang known as the Peaky Blinders did actually exist, mostly made up of young men, and operated from the late 19th to early 20th century.
Can I use a free VPN to watch Peaky Blinders?
Here at ProPrivacy, we strongly recommend against the use of free VPNs for several reasons. The first is that they tend to be feature-limited, to encourage you to upgrade to a "premium" paid offering. They're also among the first VPNs blocked by the major streaming services around the world, limiting your options for accessing content libraries in other countries.
Also, never forget that with "free" products, you're still paying in other ways. A lot of these services remain in business by selling your personal data to third parties. The phrase "there's no such thing as a free lunch" is especially true for any supposedly free service online these days, and that's assuming the service is legit, to begin with, and not just interested in stealing your identity or infecting you with malware masquerading as a free product. We believe you're better off sticking with one of the VPNs recommended in this guide.
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Final thoughts
If you want to access BBC iPlayer and watch the latest season of Peaky Blinders, then a VPN is an essential tool. Here's a quick reminder of the best VPNs for the job:
From $6.67/month
The best VPN for unblocking BBC iPlayer. Express has thousands of servers to choose from, all supported with a 30-day risk-free money-back guarantee.
- ProPrivacy TrustScore:
- 10 out of 10
- Simultaneous connections
- 8
- Server locations
- 160
- Free trial
- No
From $3.69/month
NordVPN is the best mid-range VPN, boasting over 5,200 servers to ensure you can always get access to the BBC iPlayer.
- ProPrivacy TrustScore:
- 9.9 out of 10
- Simultaneous connections
- 10
- Free trial
- No
- Server locations
- 135
From $1.99/month
The best value-for-money VPN for watching Peaky Blinders, with enough connections for every device you might want to use and a money-back guarantee.
- ProPrivacy TrustScore:
- 9.8 out of 10
- Simultaneous connections
- Unlimited
- Server locations
- 140
- Free trial
- Yes
From $2.19/month
Private Internet Access is an easy-to-use VPN with great security options and even a full-featured Linux app.
- ProPrivacy TrustScore:
- 9.7 out of 10
- Simultaneous connections
- Unlimited
- Server locations
- 84
- Free trial
- No
From $2.11/month
CyberGhost is a quality VPN provider offering 7 simultaneous connections, so everyone can watch BBC iPlayer at the same time.
- ProPrivacy TrustScore:
- 9.6 out of 10
- Simultaneous connections
- 7
- Free trial
- Yes
- Server locations
- 126