How to watch Ludwig online: stream the David Mitchell detective comedy from anywhere now

John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor (David Mitchell) struggles with a Cambridge walking tour leaflet in Ludwig
(Image credit: BBC)

Here's how to watch Ludwig online from anywhere, the acclaimed David Mitchell crime drama.

The light-hearted series, which has been a huge hit, stars Mitchell as reclusive puzzle writer John "Ludwig" Taylor, who is cajoled from his life of solitude when his identical twin James, a DCI leading Cambridge's inner-city major crimes team, goes missing. The best way to find him? By impersonating him, of course. 

The entire series is available to watch for FREE on BBC iPlayer now. If you're on holiday while it's on, watch Ludwig on iPlayer from anywhere with a VPN.

Quick links

UK: BBC iPlayer (free with licence fee)
Watch from anywhere with a VPN

If you think the impersonation plan sounds out of character for a David Mitchell typecast, you're absolutely right. The harebrained scheme is the brainchild of James's wife Lucy (Anna Maxwell Martin).

While John has a good enough eye for detail, gut for feeling, and mind for deduction to pass off as his brother, unlike James he's never been able to crack the mystery of small talk. But in order to keep the wool pulled over his new colleagues' eyes, he's going to have to work up the courage to look people in the eye and conceal his true feeble self behind a thin shield of passable pop culture references. 

If that wasn't bad enough, he's going to have to unpick the case of his missing twin while actually doing said twin's job. Taking in coded notebooks, conspiracy blogs, espionage, mistaken identity and murder plots, here's how to watch Ludwig online from anywhere in the world and for free in the UK.

How to watch Ludwig in the UK for free

Wednesday, September 25BBC iPlayerBBC One9pm BST

Ludwig premieres on Wednesday, September 25, which is when all six episodes will become available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Each instalment of the show will also air on BBC One at 9pm BST each Wednesday.

BBC One and iPlayer are free to watch for TV licence fee payers.

If you're trying to access iPlayer while outside the UK, you might want to try a VPN to allow you to watch from abroad. Scroll down for more details.

How to watch Ludwig from anywhere with a VPN

imon Evans (GERRAN HOWELL); Russell Carter (DIPO OLA); Alice Finch (IZUKA HOYLE);

Ludwig's police team (Image credit: BBC)

You can watch Ludwig on the BBC iPlayer streaming service as described above by using a VPN — no matter where you are in the world!

Normally streaming services like iPlayer 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 NordVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar, where you'll find a deeper reader on the best VPN services available right now.


How to use a VPN to watch any stream

  • Download the app at NordVPN
  • Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
  • Navigate to the streaming service you require and start watching!
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It's straightforward and easy to use, has great security, is available on loads of streaming devices and, best of all, it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it out 100% risk-free. Give it a go.

All you need to know about Ludwig

Anna Maxwell Martin as Lucy Betts-Taylor, sitting at a desk with a laptop, in Ludwig

Anna Maxwell Martin as Lucy Betts-Taylor (Image credit: BBC)

How many episodes are in Ludwig?

Ludwig comprises six 60-minute episodes. They are available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.

Aatif Sulleyman
Contributor

Aatif is a freelance copywriter and journalist based in the UK. He’s written about technology, science and politics for publications including Gizmodo, The Independent, Trusted Reviews and Newsweek, but focuses on streaming at Future, an arrangement that combines two of his greatest passions: sport and penny-pinching.