Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
WhatToWatch
WhatToWatch
Entertainment
Tom Wardley

How to watch Bad Education: A Christmas Carol online and from anywhere

Layton Williams as Stephen in Bad Education: A Christmas Carol.

It’s the return of Jack Whitehall’s Alfie Wickers to Abbey Grove in Bad Education: A Christmas Carol, but probably not quite as you’re expecting. The school-set sitcom
has gone for an adaptation of a Dickens' classic. You can watch Bad Education: A Christmas Carol for FREE in the UK on the BBC iPlayer streaming service.

But don't worry if you're on holiday while it's on — because you can watch Bad Education: A Christmas Carol on BBC iPlayer from abroad with a VPN.

Quick links

In keeping with the British sitcom tradition of airing their own spin on the Victorian festive ghost story (see Blackadder’s Christmas Carol or A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong), Bad Education returns to our screens on Wednesday with Layton Williams’ Stephen taking on the Scrooge role with Alfie appearing as their very own Jacob Marley.

The special episode also promises to have musical numbers as various ghosts visit Stephen, trying to change his mind about leaving teaching to star in panto. The usual Class K cast will also be present, with Anthony J Abraham (Inchez), Francesca Amewudah-Rivers (Blessing), Ali Hadji-Heshmati (Warren), Asha Hassan (Usma), Bobby Johnson (Harrison) and Laura Marcus (Jinx) all slated to appear.

This festive special looks set to be a Christmas spectacular you won’t want to miss. Read on for how to watch Bad Education: A Christmas Carol from anywhere in the world. We've got all the information you'll need below.

How to watch Bad Education: A Christmas Carol in the UK

How to watch Bad Education: A Christmas Carol in the US

Bad Education's US home is BritBox with all seasons streaming now. There's no news when 'A Christmas Carol' will be added but check back for updates. 

Brits travelling to the States for the holidays can use a VPN to access BBC iPlayer from abroad.

How to watch Bad Education: A Christmas Carol in Australia

All of Bad Education to date is available for free on SBS On Demand in Australia.  'A Christmas Carol' is set to stream on SBS from Thursday, December 14.

British license fee payers travelling Down Under can use a VPN to catch the christmas special from abroad, just as you would at home.

How to watch Bad Education: A Christmas Carol from anywhere with a VPN

You can watch Bad Education: A Christmas Carol on iPlayer by using a VPN – no matter where you are in the world!

Normally a streaming service will know where you are trying to tune in from and block you if you're not in the right country but a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an app that hides your location. That means you can access your usual sports and entertainment services even while you're traveling abroad.

Our favorite VPN is ExpressVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar which has helpful guide on the best VPN services, if you'd like a deeper read.


How to use a VPN to watch any stream

  • Download the app at ExpressVPN
  • Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
  • Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!

What you need to know about Bad Education: A Christmas Carol

What can we expect from Bad Education: A Christmas Carol?

Jack Whitehall: The Bad Education Christmas special is an all-singing, all-dancing Christmas spectacular. It was originally my idea, but Layton in particular has done a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to delivering my vision. I am tone deaf and have two left feet, so we really let him take front and centre with this episode, and it's a wonderful opportunity for him to shine.

And obviously Alfie is back, albeit slightly differently than viewers might expect. It's always fun to drop back in, if for no other reason, than even if I only appear in the show for five minutes, I'm just magically number one on the call sheet, which means that Layton has to be number two, and it's good to keep his ego in check for another year! So that's why I like to make sure that I have a fleeting appearance in Bad Education with each new series just to make sure that Layton doesn't get too big for his boots!

Who is in the cast of Bad Education: A Christmas Carol?

  • Alfie played by Jack Whitehall
  • Blessing played by Francesca Amewudah-Rivers 
  • Harrison played by Bobby Johnson
  • Usma played by Asha Hassan
  • Stephen played by Layton Williams 
  • Jinx played by Laura Marcus
  • Warren played by Ali Hadji-Heshmati 
  • Inchez played by Anthony J Abrahms 
  • Mitchell played by Charlie Wernham
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.