The BBC has an amazing range of fantastic programs available for streaming online if you reside in the UK. Trying to access the programing outside the UK will just give you the message: “Not available in your area” – unless you use the following trick.
See just like any other online service the BBC iPlayer will take a look at your IP-address to determine your location. An IP-address is a unique number that any device connection to the Internet needs in order to communicate. Fear not the solution is very simple.
What we need is to use is a VPN connection. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and when we connect to such a network we will have the server act as a middleman between the BBC iPlayer and us. Since we will be connecting to a server in the United Kingdom the iPlayer will think we are UK residents and let us stream. It is that simple.
Where to get the Right VPN
First of all it is important to use a VPN service that has a server located in the United Kingdom, and secondly it needs to be able to handle the a 
large bandwidth. I have tried a couple of different providers and the one that worked the best was by far Unlocator.
The connection works on Mac, PC, iPad, iPhone and Android devices, so you can use it any device normally used for the BBC iPlayer. Setting up the connection is super easy and you will get a mail with instructions when you have ordered the connection. It is simply a matter of copy pasting in the server info and username/password from Unlocator
2 Comments
Thomas ´, this worked a treat but I want to go to the next stage with my wife’s non-UK registered iPad. I want to download the iPlayer app (and Lovefilms for that matter). I spoofed ITunes into allowing me to create a UK account with the VPN and a UK credit card. However, when I sync her iPad with my iTunes account it wants to erase all her data etc (definitely a no-no). Much research on the Apple forums bring up nothing. Will purchasing a UK iTunes gift card off Ebay be a workaround and use her iTunes account?
Thanks.
Hi there. The UK iTunes card is the work around you are looking for. The problem with creating a brand new account is that it will overwrite the iPad. If you use the gift card trick instead the account will be the same but just tied to a different country. So go ahead and get an UK gift card and you should be good to go.