Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock will mark the 200th anniversary of Royal Institution’s Christmas lecture with a truly ambitious, thought-provoking and daring trio of talks about space – specifically the potential for extraterrestrial life.
You can see Royal Institution’s Christmas lecture 2025 online anywhere with a VPN and potentially free.
It’s a divisive topic even within scientific circles, one that pits probability, theory and imagination against cold, hard evidence. On the one hand, how could anyone possibly entertain the notion that our planet is the one place in the infinity of the universe with the properties to sustain life. On the other hand, when was the last time you saw an alien?
Using images taken by the James Webb Telescope – not just the most powerful space telescope ever created, but one that Aderin-Pocock himself helped develop – William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize-winning Honorary Research Fellow at UCL and Sky at night presenter will set out in search of other ‘Goldilocks Planets’ beyond the Milky Way.
Aderin-Pocock will also tip his hat to his predecessors, including Warren De La Rue, Carl Sagan and Kevin Fong, by dipping into Royal Institution’s Christmas lecture archives to unpack the diverse ways in which recent scientific breakthroughs have changed our understanding of space.
Expect to feel old as you reacquaint yourself with original props from yesteryear, and maybe even a historical demonstration or two.
Read on as we explain how to see Royal Institution’s Christmas lecture from anywhere.
Can I watch the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2025 for free?
Yes. Viewers in the UK can watch Royal Institution’s Christmas lecture 2025 FREE on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer. Everyone else can enter for free via Royal Institution YouTube Channel.
Outside the UK this Christmas? Use NordVPN to unlock your free streams.
How to watch the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2025 anywhere
If you want to see Royal Institution’s Christmas lecture but you’re away from home and access to the show is geo-blocked, you can always use a VPN to access it (provided you’re not violating any broadcast terms, of course). You might be surprised how easy it is to do.
Use one of those best VPNs to see Royal Institution’s Christmas lecture 2025 anywhere:
How to watch the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2025 in the UK
In the UK, 2025 Royal Institution’s Christmas lecture is displayed for FREE on BBC Four.
Lecture 1, Destination moonpremieres on TV at 19:00 GMT Sunday 28 December; Lecture 2, Searching the Solar Systempremieres on TV at 7pm on Monday 29 December; Lecture 3, To the stars and beyondpremieres on TV at 7pm on Tuesday 30 December.
But all of Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock’s Is there life beyond Earth? series will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer streaming service Sunday, December 28.
All you need is an account, a TV license and a UK postcode (eg HA9 0WS). Register here.
Outside the UK? Use a VPN to access all the content you would normally stream at home.
How to watch the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2025 in the US, Canada and Australia
All three Royal Institution’s Christmas lecture with Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock will be available to watch for free Royal Institution YouTube Channel from Sunday 28 December.
Away from home? Use a VPN to access all the content you would normally be able to stream.
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