BBC iPlayer Poldark Update

Unfortunately I’ve just checked and at the moment (June,2023) there’s no episodes of Poldark available on BBC iPlayer.  It’s on Britbox if you’re able to subscribe to that and there’s probably a few episodes on YouTube if you search.   This could change at any moment and when Poldark comes back onto the archive I’ll update this page.  Don’t waste your money on a VPN if that’s all you wanted although there’s loads more quality dramas on BBC, ITVX if you look.

If you’re looking for alternatives in period dramas – this is getting rave reviews – The Gallow’s Pole.

 

 

Poldark on BBC iPlayer

There’s been a great deal of excitement about the new series of Poldark. It seems only yesterday when ladies where swooning over Aidan Turner in the first series a few years ago! However we’ve now reached Series 5 and surprisingly it have been announced by the BBC that this will be the last one that is commissioned.  The production company is called Mammoth Screen so at this point it’s unsure whether this will be the end of Poldark.

First here’s the trailer for the new series –

Season 5 synopsis released by the BBC is as follows:

“It is a new century and with it comes the promise of a hopeful future, but the past casts a long shadow over Cornwall. Following the death of Elizabeth, Ross Poldark resolves to put Westminster behind him and spend more time with the people he loves. However, when an old friend emerges with a plea for help, Ross is compelled to challenge the establishment again. As the Enyses (Luke Norris and Gabriella Wilde) rally to join the cause, Demelza must contend with dangers close to home, while George (Jack Farthing) courts corrupt powers whose influence spans the Empire.”

Jack Farthing, who plays George Warleggan has also spoken about his character’s heartache after the death of Elizabeth.

“We find him at the beginning of this series apparently back to normal – prolific, working hard, getting down to it. But obviously, avoiding [Elizabeth’s death], I think, is the thing. Totally avoiding, so taking down pictures of her, not wanting anyone to say her name, getting on with his job,” he revealed.

“There’s a great chunk of this series that is about him dealing with grief and about how hard that is. It’s profound, it’s significant,” he said.

The series is based on the famous books by Winston Graham of course which covers the entire history of the families over several decades.    One of the problems with bringing it to the screen is the long timescale of the books, eight in all.    Of course the character and actors  change substantially over the years and many of the current stars have expressed doubts about continuing the series (with the help of make up obviously!).

There’s a big gap in time during the books so it’s quite difficult to cover the novel’s timeline in this sense too.   Of course one option would be to shelve the series for ten tears and then bring all the cast together again after they’ve aged. In reality this is more difficult than it sounds but it’s been done before so who knows!  Just to clarify this episode fills in the missing events rather than follow the book exactly.

Watch English TV Abroad and Enjoy Poldark Now

So of course, the show was originally commissioned by the BBC so it’s being broadcast here first. I’ve just checked the archives on BBC iPlayer and it looks like they’ll be available for five months. Which of course, is plenty of time to watch the whole series – indeed several times over. IT’s also being broadcast by PBS in the USA, the release date for this is sometime in the Autumn so a few months to wait there.

So you can watch it live in the United Kingdom, stream it on BBC iPlayer for up to five months or wait until the Fall for PBS if you’re in the USA. Unfortunately the default situation means that the BBC archive and live streaming option will only work if you’re physically located in the United Kingdom. So even if you’re close by in a fellow European country you’ll get blocked, you can watch UK TV online from Portugal or Spain for example.  There however another simple option that makes it possible to watch the show on the BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world. So you can actually watch Poldark now without waiting or buying it on DVD when it’s released.

The trick is to change your network or IP address to appear to be in the United Kingdom. When you do this, there’s no problem with watching TV abroad from any country in the world. It’s very simple to do and only takes a minute if you use the right programmes. I’ve been using a program called Identity Cloaker for many years but I’ve been told about another option from my sister.

It’s called NordVPN and it’s another security program which you can use as a simple watch UK TV abroad app. There are simple options for installing on your phone, tablet or computer and all you need to ensure is that you connect to the right country before you visit the BBC website.  They have a deal on currently which offers 75% off so it might be worth checking them out.