How to watch The Great British Baking Show: Festive Specials free online from anywhere

Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith, Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding in the Bake Off tent ahead of the Great British Bake Off Festive Specials 2023 and 2024
(Image credit: Channel 4)

Just a few short week’s after series 14 finished and The Great British Baking Show is back with its annual duo of festive specials. Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will be judging the best Yuletide bakes — and you can stream it from anywhere with a VPN.

Stream The Great British Baking Show: Festive Specials online: channel, start time, and free streaming options

► U.K. date and time: Both Festive Specials air on Channel 4, starting with the Christmas episode on Dec. 24 at 8:15 p.m. GMT, and then the New Year’s Day special at 7:40 p.m. on Jan. 1.
• FREE STREAM —  Channel 4 (U.K.)
• Watch anywhere — Try ExpressVPN 100% risk free

The Great British Bake Off – known as The Great British Baking Show in the U.S. – is ideal post-turkey comfort viewing and as warming as a glass of mulled wine. Hollywood and Leith are back alongside hilarious hosts Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding, who'll assess the ability of 10 former contestants to produce some incredible edibles across two holiday specials.

The Christmas Day episode will see six former bakers including George Aristidou (series 8 winner), Sophie Waldo, and Dan Basley-Harling – tasked with making moreish mince pies, while also having their cake-making finesse tested in the Technical and Showstopper challenges. 

In the New Year's Day instalment, Mark (series 11), Maxy (series 13), Maggie and runner-up Jürgen (both series 12) ring in 2024 by making choux buns for a religieuse in the episode’s Signature portion. Prue and Hollywood when then pit them a ‘Smash Cake’ challenge for the Showstopper.

If you’re looking for feel-good viewing along the lines of the The Great British Sewing Bee, look no further. Follow our guide below for where to watch The Great British Baking Show: Festive Specials online and FREE from anywhere with a VPN.

FREE The Great British Baking Show: Festive Specials stream

How to watch The Great British Baking Show: Festive Specials for FREE on Channel 4

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You can catch The Great British Baking Show: Festive specials live on Channel 4. 

The Christmas Eve special airs on Sunday, December 24 at 8:15 p.m. GMT. It's followed a week later by the New Year’s Day episode, on Monday, January 1 at 7:40 p.m. GMT. You can also stream episodes live online through All 4, Channel 4’s on-demand service. However, you’ll need to have a valid TV license.

Need to catch up? The Great British Baking Show: Festive Specials will be made available through Channel 4’s FREE on-demand service on-demand shortly after broadcast. The service also has every episode from season 8 onwards available, if you’re after a little bit more Baking Show action from the tent.

Traveling outside the U.K.? Don't worry — as we explain below, you can watch The Great British Baking Show: Festive Specials live or on-demand when you download a VPN.

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How to watch The Great British Baking Show: Festive Specials online from anywhere with a VPN

Currently traveling in a country where Channel 4 isn’t available? With the right VPN (Virtual private network), you can continue to access your usual platforms and watch your favorite shows – including the Bake Off 2023 final – online no matter where in the world you are.

We've evaluated many options, and the best VPN is ExpressVPN. It meets the VPN needs of the vast majority of users, offering outstanding compatibility with most devices and impressive connection speeds. It's also affordable and comes with a 30-day risk-free trial, so you can give it a whirl and see how you like it.

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Safety, speed and simplicity combine to make ExpressVPN our favorite VPN service. It's also compatible with loads of devices and there's a 30-day money-back guarantee if you want to try it out.

Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, ExpressVPN is our favorite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view a U.K. service, you'd select U.K. from the list.

3. Sit back and enjoy the show. Head to Channel 4 and stream The Great British Baking Show: Festive Specials online.


Watch The Great British Baking Show in other places around the world

Can I watch The Great British Baking Show: Festive Specials online in Australia?

Foxtel NowBinge

Foxtel's streaming services Foxtel Now and Binge are the home of The Great British Baking Show in Australia. But while broadcast of The Great British Baking Show series 14 episodes are only a few week’s behind, there’s a gap of an entire year before the festive specials reach the Antipodes.

Still, on Binge the entire OG show and previous festive specials are currently available. It’s a great value option and is available on a whole host of devices (including smartphones, games consoles, Smart TVs, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, etc). It costs from only $10 per month after a 14-day FREE trial.

Another option is Foxtel Now, a slightly pricier service that lets you either watch Fox Showcase programming live or on-demand as and when you want. The Essentials base plan includes a 10-day free trial to new subscribers. After that, you'll pay from $25 a month.

Traveling outside Australia? Don't worry — as we explain below, you can watch it live or on-demand when you download a safe, secure VPN.

Can I watch The Great British Baking Show: Festive Specials online in the U.S.

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When it comes to the Baking Show: Festive Specials to Netflix in the U.S, Santa's being a bit sluggish. The 2022/2023 Christmas and New Year’s Day episodes only recently arrived on the streamer on December 8. 

By that measure, U.S. fans will likely have to wait a whole year before enjoying the latest Yuletide bakes. However, as of writing, every episode of season 14 (a.k.a. collection 11) is currently up on the streamer.

The streaming service currently starts from $6.99 a month (with ads), or $15.49 for the standard, ad-free plan. 

Away from the U.S.? Don't worry — check out our guide above and watch The Great British Baking Show: Festive Specials by downloading aVPN.

Can I watch The Great British Baking Show: Festive Specials online in Canada?

While CBC is the home of The Great British Baking Show in Canada, there’s a year’s delay between the annual broadcast of holiday specials in the U.K., and their eventual release internationally. The New Year’s Day 2023 is scheduled to get its debut only on Wednesday, December 27, so it’s likely the 2024 episode will see a similar delay.

When it does finally appear, the CBC Gem streaming service will inevitably be the place to watch The Great British Baking Show: Festive Specials 2023. A subscription is $4.99 right now - after you've taken advantage of its one-month free trial – and you can watch on Android, Apple TV, iPad and iPhone or simply the CBC Gem website.

Of course, if you're a Brit visiting Canada, you can use a VPN to watch The Great British Baking Show: Festive Specials on Channel 4 – from anywhere.

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Daniel Pateman

Daniel Pateman has been a freelance writer since 2018. He currently works across a range of brands including TechRadar, T3, GamesRadar, What Hi-Fi? and CinemaBlend, where he regularly pens How To Watch articles about where our readers can stream the latest new movies and TV shows, as well as producing detailed guides on the best streaming services, from Disney Plus to Netflix. He received a first-class degree in Humanities and Media in 2013 from Birkbeck University and later an MA in Contemporary Literature and Culture. In addition to his work for Future's websites, Daniel writes across the broad spectrum of arts topics – including photography, sculpture, painting, film – and has been published in The Brooklyn Rail and Eyeline magazine, among others.