How to watch the Great British Bake Off 2021 online in the UK and abroad

Get yourself in front of the TV as Bake Off promises soggy bottoms and food innuendos aplenty with this year's amateur bakers taking to the tent. Read on as we explain how to watch The Great British Bake Off 2021 online wherever you are around the world.

Season 12 (or Collection 9 if you're in the US) serves up our, ahem, maturest line-up of contestants yet, including a detective (oooh!), a software developer (insert crunchy quip here), and a head of finance (boo!), who fancy their chances in that famous tent of handshakes and heartaches.

Each of their skills will be tested to the limits in a delightfully wicked series of baking challenges, and if it isn't Prue or Paul who get them in a jam, they'll have to beware their own wildly spiralling ambitions, and perhaps a softly spoken saboteur or two.

May the battle commence! Here's how to watch The Great British Bake Off 2021 online where you are, as well as how to use a VPN to ensure you get a FREE stream.

When will I be able to watch The Great British Bake Off 2021?

This year's dozen bakers (not a baker's dozen) get cracking on Tuesday, September 21, with new episodes landing on a weekly basis.

With 10 episodes in total, the GBBO series finale is scheduled for November 23.

What time can I watch The Great British Bake Off in the UK?

As usual, each episode starts at 8pm, and finishes an hour and a half later. 

How to watch The Great British Bake Off in the UK for FREE

Channel 4 is serving up the latest series of Bake Off, which of course means that you don't need to pay a penny to tune in.

And if you're not in front of a telly, you can also live stream all the drama on All 4. If you haven't already, you'll need to create a free account to use the streaming service, but there's no payment or credit cards involved.

All 4 is available to watch on a number of devices, including:

• Smart TVs: Samsung, FreeviewPlay 
• Desktop: Windows, Mac
• Mobile: iOS, Android
• Media streamers: Amazon Fire TV, Now TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku
• Consoles: Xbox One, PS4

How to watch The Great British Bake Off if you're abroad

From the UK, but currently abroad? You can still watch The Great British Bake Off 2021 with our best VPN pick, and sink your gnashers into all the home comforts of All 4. The platform locks its content to UK viewers only, but you can get around those geo-blocks by using a VPN.

Connecting to a server within the UK will switch your IP to make it appear as if you're just at home and watching your favourite show as normal, no matter where you actually are. 

Just make sure you use a VPN that has an excellent track record of successfully unblocking All 4. And here's the one that we recommend...

ExpressVPN - Watch The Great British Bake Off wherever you are with the best VPN
Able to successfully unlock All 4's extensive library of British entertainment and beyond, ExpressVPN also boasts fabulous security features. Its speed and wide-ranging device compatibility are just some of the reasons it's our recommended provider.

Sign-up now and snatch Express VPN's annual plan, where you'll receive an additional 3 months free, as well as benefitting from its 30-day money back guarantee.

- Give ExpressVPN a try with its 100% money back guarantee

• New to VPN? Find out how to use one to unblock geo-restrictions

How to watch The Great British Bake Off 2021 around the world

Want to catch all of that cake munching goodness from around the world?

Great British Bake Off fans in the States don't have to wait long for the 2021 season, which starts streaming on Netflix of all places from Friday, September 24. Otherwise known as The Great British Baking Show, new episodes drop just after 3am ET / 12am PT each week. Subscriptions start at $8.99 per month, going up to $17.99 for 4K and more devices.

CBC will be the likely place to watch GBBO season 12 in Canada, but seeing as season 11 only arrived in the Great White North in August, you may need to wait until next year for the very latest action. Crumbs! For the time being, you can blitz your way through past episodes by signing up for a $4.99 per month Premium CBC account, with the first 30 days free. 

There's no word on a release date for season 12 in Australia or New Zealand either. Since Oz is otherwise up to date, with streaming service Binge offering season 11 of the show, we imagine fans Down under won't have too long to wait. If you want to binge watch past episodes on Binge, a subscription costs AU$10 per month after a 14-day free trial.

Who are The Great British Bake Off 2021 bakers?

• Amanda Geo - 56, Metropolian Police detective from London
• Chigs Parmar - 40, sales manager from Leicester
• Crystelle Piereira  - 26, client relationship manager from London
• Freya Cox - 19, student from Scarsborough
• George Aristidou - 34, shared lives coordinator from London
• Giuseppe Dell'Anno - 45, chief engineer from Bristol
• Jairzinho Parris - 51, Head of Finance from London
• Jurgen Krauss - 56, IT professional from Brighton
• Lizzie Acker - 28, car production operative from Liverpool
• Maggie - 70, retired nurse and midwife from Poole
• Rochica - 27, junior HR business partner from Birmingham
• Tom Fletcher - 28, software developer from Maidstone

How to use a VPN to unblock any restrictions

If you're outside of your preferred broadcaster's boundaries, you can use a VPN to unblock any geo-restrictions and watch the Great British Bake Off 2021 as if you were right at home. Here's our step-by-step guide on how to do just that.

• VPN - standing for virtual private network - offers security and anonymity as you browse online, using set protocols to encrypt your data and make it unreadable to outsiders.
• As a part of that, you can also switch your IP address, which identifies your location.
• Most VPNs offer a list of locations where its servers are based to join. Connecting to them switches your IP to appear as if you're browsing from that country/city. In turn, you can then access content locked to that country.
• When it comes to finding a VPN, you should make sure you find the best one that's suitable for your chosen device, with VPN providers offering compatibility for a ton of devices, including VPN for Mac, VPN for Android smartphones, an iPad VPN, and even a range of fairly nifty free VPNs.
• Once you've made the decision for the most suitable VPN for your device and your means for using a VPN, sign-up and install it. 
• To watch The Great British Bake Off 2021, all you need to do is select a country showing matches from its list of available servers and connect. You'll then be able to hop over geo-restrictions, with All 4 opening its online gates to you.
• We also want to ensure your money is well spent, so we would recommend going for a VPN that offers a risk-free trial. ExpressVPN is one of many providers that has a 30-day money back guarantee.

• From the Bake-Off tent to the ballroom, watch Strictly Come Dancing 2021
• Watch online content with the best streaming VPN
• The best home screenings for less - see our best TV deals guide