These are the best TV series you can watch for free on BBC iPlayer and All 4

Lockdown has left many of us with plenty of time to binge-watch TV - and yet it can still be hard to settle on the perfect choice.

If you don't have a Netflix subscription, or perhaps have exhausted all your options on paid-for streaming platforms, there's plenty on offer for free with UK catch-up channels, such as All 4.

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To watch BBC iPlayer, you must have a TV licence. Other catch-up channels,like ITV and All 4, do not require one.

While ITV does have some shows you can catch up on, they don't have box sets, so the availability of certain shows may differ from day-to-day.

These are the best binge-worthy series currently available on All 4 and BBC iPlayer.

BBC iPlayer

Gavin and Stacey

Following the love story between Essex-born Gavin and Barry Island-born Stacey, Gavin and Stacey is an enduringly popular sitcom with a laugh-out-loud script.

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The loveable cast of characters make this the perfect comfort watch for lockdown.

Outnumbered

Similarly, it's the characters that made this family-friendly sitcom such a hit among British audiences.

Outnumbered follows the hectic - and hilarious - lives of one family, with the (often improvised) scripts of the kids in the early season making for some truly memorable episodes.

Line of Duty 

Fancy something a little more gripping? Line of Duty is a highly-regarded BBC drama following the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anti-corruption unit. It'll have you on the edge of your seat episode after episode.

Fleabag

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If you haven't seen the hit show from Phoebe Waller-Bridge, now is the time to catch up.

The dry-witted Fleabag is at the centre of the show, and we watch as she - often unsuccessfully - navigates life and love in London. It's both tragic and hilarious in equal measures.

The Capture 

The Capture is another must for lovers of crime drama. The thriller follows the multi-layered conspiracy that unravels after a British soldier is accused of a murder while on duty in Afghanistan.

With several episodes ending on huge cliffhangers, you'll find yourself pressing 'play next' with no hesitation.

Planet Earth

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Seeing as we're not able to travel currently, why not bring the world into your home with Planet Earth?

National treasure David Attenborough celebrates the amazing variety of the natural world in this epic documentary series, which was filmed over four years and in 64 different countries.

Killing Eve 

Killing Eve is so wildly popular that it hardly needs introduction - but if you haven't seen this thrilling crime drama, now's the time.

Title character Eve and complicated baddie Villanelle go head-to-head in a game of cat and mouse, each obsessed with the other in this edge-of-your seat drama.

This Country

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This documentary style sitcom about the mundane yet hilarious lives of cousins Kerry and Kurtan in a small Cotswold village has won the hearts of viewers across the nation.

All 4

The Inbetweeners 

Take a trip down memory lane by revisiting the cringe-worthy Inbetweeners gang as they struggle through sixth form - with hilarious results.

Derry Girls 

This breakout comedy is set in 1990s Northern Ireland and follows the trials and tribulations of a group of young girls - and one English boy - as they navigate teenagehood against the backdrop of the Troubles.

The End of the F***ing World 

Unique in style and format, The End of the F***ing World is both thrilling, funny and romantic, following the teenage outsiders, James and Alyssa, on a road trip to find the latter's estranged father.

The IT Crowd

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Set in the basement of a London office, this quirky comedy follows the antics of a company's IT department - headed by a woman who knows absolutely nothing about IT.

One particularly memorable episode, Are We Not Men?, follows IT workers Moss and Roy as they try to become more masculine by using generic football-related phrases to muscle in with a more "manly" crowd, with extremely funny results.

Deadwater Fell

For something a little more serious, try this gripping drama which opens with a house fire devastating a close-knit community. David Tenant stars alongside Cush Jumbo, Matthew McNulty and Anna Madeley.

Deutschland 83

Deutschland 83 follows the young East German soldier Martin Rauch who is pulled from his border guard post in a divided Germany and given a new assignment as an undercover spy for the undercover Stasi service in West Germany.

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