Honestly, nothing beats the feeling of a rainy Tuesday evening, a massive mug of tea, and the gentle, low-stakes drama of a sponge cake failing to rise. It’s the ultimate comfort blanket. But if you’ve tried to figure out where to watch GBBO recently, you’ve probably noticed that the streaming landscape has become a bit of a mess. One minute it’s on one platform, the next it’s moved, renamed, or split across three different apps.
It’s annoying. I get it.
The Great British Bake Off (or The Great British Baking Show if you’re across the pond) is currently scattered across the internet like flour after a particularly messy bread week. Depending on where you live, you might be looking for "Collection 14," "Season 17," or just the holiday specials. Here is the actual, no-nonsense breakdown of where the tent is hiding in 2026.
The UK Connection: Where it all Starts
If you are in the UK, life is simple. You have it the easiest.
Basically, Channel 4 is the home of the show. You can watch it live on telly, or you can use their streaming service (still often called All 4 by those of us who refuse to change, though it’s technically just "Channel 4" now). It’s free. Well, "free" as in you have to sit through some ads for car insurance and supermarket meal deals.
But there’s a catch for the completionists. Channel 4 only keeps the more recent seasons—usually from Season 8 onwards, which is when the show made that massive, controversial move from the BBC.
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What about the Mary Berry years?
If you’re looking for the "Old Testament" of Bake Off—the Mary Berry, Mel, and Sue era—you won't find those on Channel 4. They’ve popped up in various places over the years, but currently, you often have to head over to BritBox or sometimes Amazon Prime Video to buy them by the episode. It's a bit of a localized tug-of-war for the rights to those early bakes.
The US Situation: Netflix vs. The Roku Channel
For American fans, things get weird. First off, you have to deal with the name change. Because "Bake-Off" is a trademarked term by Pillsbury in the States, the show is rebranded as The Great British Baking Show.
Netflix is still the heavy hitter here. They have a deal that brings new episodes over almost immediately after they air in the UK.
- New Seasons: Usually listed as "Collections." Collection 13 and 14 are the big ones right now.
- The Spinoffs: Netflix is also where you’ll find The Great British Baking Show: Holidays and occasionally Junior Bake Off.
- The Disappearing Act: This is what trips people up. Netflix doesn’t have the rights to everything.
Enter The Roku Channel.
Surprisingly, Roku has become a massive repository for Bake Off content. They’ve managed to snag the rights to a huge chunk of the earlier seasons (Seasons 1 through 7). The best part? It’s free to watch with ads, even if you don't own a Roku device. You just download the app or watch in a browser.
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Canada and Australia: A Mixed Bag
In Canada, CBC Gem has historically been the place to go. They’ve been pretty consistent with the main series. However, for the newest 2026 episodes, Netflix Canada has been increasingly taking the lead.
Australia is a bit more of a hunt. Binge and Foxtel usually carry the newest seasons, but the licensing seems to shift every few years. If you're an Aussie fan, you've probably spent more time searching for the show than actually watching it.
Why the Seasons are Numbered Differently
This is the most confusing part of knowing where to watch GBBO.
In the UK, we count from the very first season in 2010. But when the show first came to the US on PBS, they started with Season 5 and called it Season 1. Then Netflix took over and started using "Collections."
So, if you see someone talking about "Season 17" but your app says "Collection 14," don't panic. You aren't missing three years of television. It’s just the result of some very messy international paperwork.
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Watching the Specials: Professionals and Juniors
If you’ve finished the main show and you’re desperate for more, there are two main spinoffs:
- Junior Bake Off: Hosted by Harry Hill (in the UK) and full of kids who are somehow better at tempering chocolate than I am at boiling an egg.
- Bake Off: The Professionals: This is a whole different beast. It's intense, French-heavy, and involves massive sugar sculptures that inevitably shatter at the last second.
In the UK, both are on Channel 4. In the US, Netflix has been slowly adding Junior Bake Off seasons, but The Professionals is harder to track down—it occasionally surfaces on Hulu or specialized food channels, but it’s not a permanent resident anywhere yet.
The VPN "Lifehack"
Look, we have to talk about it. A lot of people get tired of the regional waiting games and use a VPN.
By using a VPN to set your location to the UK, you can access the Channel 4 website directly. It’s how a lot of superfans watch the episodes the very second they air in Britain, rather than waiting for the Friday morning drop on Netflix US.
Is it a bit of a faff? Yeah. Does it work? Usually. Just keep in mind that streaming services are getting better at blocking VPN IP addresses, so you might have to cycle through a few servers before the "Play" button actually works.
Actionable Next Steps for the Hungry Viewer
If you’re ready to start your marathon right now, here is the most efficient path:
- For the newest episodes (2025/2026): Go straight to Channel 4 (UK) or Netflix (US/Canada).
- For the classic Mary Berry era: Check The Roku Channel first. It’s free and has the largest archive of the early years.
- For the holiday specials: Search "Holidays" specifically on Netflix; they are often listed as a separate show title rather than just an extra episode of the main series.
- Check the naming: If you can't find it, search for "Baking Show" instead of "Bake Off" depending on your region's app store settings.
There’s no reason to miss out on the puns and the soggy bottoms just because a licensing deal changed. Pick your platform, grab a biscuit, and start streaming.