How To Watch Every Episode Of Gossip Girl For Free

Gossip Girl is back in the spotlight following a reunion we didn’t know we needed between Kristen Bell and Leighton Meester at the SAG Awards, as well as the tragic news of star Michelle Trachtenberg’s untimely death aged 39. If either tidbit has inspired a nostalgic rewatch, we’ve got the intel: here’s how to stream every episode of Gossip Girl for free.

Gossip Girl S1: Chuck (ED WESTWICK), Serena (BLAKE LIVELY), Nate (CHACE CRAWFORD), Vanessa (VANESSA SZOHR), Jenny (TAYLOR MOMSEN), Dan (PENN BADGLEY) & Blair (LEIGHTON MEESTER). (© Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc./Karolina Wojtasik/HBO Max)

Where To Stream Gossip Girl In The UK For Free

Every episode of Gossip Girl is available to stream for free in the UK on BBC iPlayer (with a TV license, of course). And before you ask, don’t worry: we’re talking about the original series which ran from 2007 to 2012, not the 2021 HBO reboot which originally aired on the BBC here in the UK and is subsequently also available on iPlayer.

Blair (LEIGHTON MEESTER), Dan (PENN BADGLEY), Georgina (MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG), Chuck (ED WESTWICK) & Nate (CHACE CRAWFORD) in Gossip Girl. (© Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc./Giovanni Rufino/HBO)

The Gossip Girl Cast

The core Gossip Girl cast is made up of the following stars:

• Blake Lively as Serena van der Woodsen
• Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf
• Penn Badgley as Dan Humphrey
• Chace Crawford as Nate Archibald
• Taylor Momsen as Jenny Humphrey
• Ed Westwick as Chuck Bass
• Kelly Rutherford as Lily van der Woodsen
• Matthew Settle as Rufus Humphrey
• Jessica Szohr as Vanessa Abrams
• Connor Paolo as Eric van der Woodsen

However, a whole host of stars appeared throughout the series. The main recurring characters include:

• Kaylee DeFer as Ivy Dickens/Charlie Rhodes
• Michelle Trachtenberg as Georgina Sparks
• Sebastian Stan as Carter Baizen
• Zuzanna Szadkowski as Dorota Kishlovsky
• Margaret Colin as Eleanor Waldorf
• Wallace Shawn as Cyrus Rose
• Robert John Burke as Bart Bass
• Aaron Tveit as Trip van der Bilt
• Elizabeth Hurley as Diana Payne

Nate (CHACE CRAWFORD), Chuck (ED WESTWICK) & Dan (PENN BADGLEY) in Gossip Girl S6. (© Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc./Giovanni Rufino)

Who Is Kristen Bell In Gossip Girl?

Kristen Bell narrates each and every episode of Gossip Girl as the anonymous titular writer. She joined the show just after Veronica Mars was cancelled – a fellow show on The CW led by Bell. Reflecting on her role in the show, Bell said: ‘When Veronica Mars was canceled, the following season of pilots for The CW had been announced, and one was Gossip Girl. I read it, and I knew I was sort of old to play any of the kids. I called Dawn Ostroff – who was the head of The CW at the time – and said, “Hey, I did so much narration on Veronica Mars, can I narrate this show?” And she said, “Hey, that’s a very good idea.”

‘I also politely reminded her that she’d cancelled my show a few days previous to that,’ Bell continued. ‘And I somehow tricked everyone into my doing it. They knew I had a younger voice, they liked me and they knew I’d show up for work, and I guess that was all I really needed.

‘It was so clear to me how sassy and catty she needed to be, and they let me do whatever I wanted with it,’ the star added. ‘I suppose that from their perspective, they thought they could get an actor who could be a powerful existence in the show. From my perspective, I just wanted to work.’

While she voiced each and every episode in the series, Bell only appeared in Gossip Girl once: in the finale. She makes a cameo as herself alongside Rachel Bilson, with the two preparing for an audition for a role in the adaptation of Dan Humphrey’s explosive novel, Inside.

WATCH

Seasons 1 to 6 of Gossip Girl are streaming now at bbc.co.uk