If Slade owned Christmas in the 1970s, Wham! owned it a decade later with a song George Michael put together one Sunday afternoon in his bedroom while a young Andrew Ridgeley was watching football downstairs - this detail, courtesy of Ridgeley, and many others can be found in "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped".
Here's how to watch "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped" online from anywhere with a VPN — and potentially for free.
"Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped" premieres in the U.K. on Saturday, December 14 on BBC Two at 8.35 p.m. GMT (3.35 p.m. ET/ 12.35 p.m. PT) and will stream on BBC iPlayer.
• U.K. — BBC iPlayer (Dec. 14)
• Australia — SBS (Dec. 18)
• New Zealand — TVNZ1 (Dec. 24)
• Watch anywhere — try NordVPN 100% risk free
There are plenty of little known facts in this warm and sentimental documentary such as the fact that the single was always going to be called "Last Christmas" and not, as urban myth would have it, "Last Summer". Ridgeley reveals that Michael wrote the song in about an hour but with the specific intent of it becoming a Christmas number one.
It only actually achieved that for the first time in 2023, being kept off the top spot when it was originally released by the Live Aid single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" on which George Michael also sang. A tidbit: he recorded vocals for that song straight after filming the "Last Christmas" music video.
Another crazy fact? The guy who starred as Wham!'s driver in the iconic video is now the mayor of the Swiss ski resort in which it was filmed (Saas Fee). Almost everybody associated with either or both the single and video appears in the doc as if almost to underline the nostalgic festive glow around the project and commemorate the fact that George Michael passed away tragically young on Christmas Day 2016.
Read on to find out how to watch "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped" online, on TV and from anywhere.
How to watch "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped" for free in the U.K.
How to watch 'Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped' from abroad
Thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network), "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped" should be available to Brits with a TV license no matter where they are. The software allows your devices to appear to be back in your home country regardless of where in the world you find yourself, and access sites like BBC iPlayer as normal. Our favorite is NordVPN – find out why in our NordVPN review.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple, just follow these steps.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're away from the U.K. and want to view a U.K. service, you'd select U.K. from the list.
3. Sit back and watch the show. Head to BBC iPlayer to watch "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped" online and on-demand.
How to watch 'Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped' around the world
Can I watch "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped" in the United States?
There are currently no plans to air "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped" in the U.S..
However, if you are a Brit in the States for work or on vacation you can catch the show for free by using a VPN such as NordVPN, choosing U.K. from the list and selecting BBC iPlayer.
Watch "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped" online and on-demand in the U.K.
If you live in the U.K. then you can catch "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped" on Saturday, December 14 on BBC Two at 8.35 p.m. GMT (3.35 p.m. ET/ 12.35 p.m. PT). It will also be available to stream after broadcast on BBC iPlayer and will repeat on BBC One on Monday, December 23 at 11.20 p.m. GMT. You'll need a valid TV license, naturally.
If you're not currently in the U.K., you can still catch the show by using one of the best VPN services, such as NordVPN.
Can I watch "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped" online in Canada?
As with the U.S. there are currently no plans to air "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped" in Canada but if you are a Brit in the Great White North for work or on vacation you can catch the show by using a VPN such as NordVPN to help you access iPlayer as normal.
Can I watch "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped" online in Australia?
You can. "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped" will air in Australia on Wednesday, 18 December at 7.30 p.m. AEST on SBS.
However, if you are a Brit working or on vacation Down Under and you want to catch the show earlier via your own domestic streaming platform, you can do that with the help of a VPN. We recommend Nord VPN.
Can I watch "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped" online in New Zealand?
Yep. "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped" will air for FREE on TVNZ 1 in New Zealand at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, December 24.
That said, if you are a Brit working or on vacation in NZ and you want to catch the show earlier via your own domestic streaming platform, you can do so using a streaming VPN. We recommend Nord VPN.
'Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped' cast
- George Michael (archive)
- Andrew Ridgeley
- Pepsi DeMacque-Crockett and Shirlie Kemp
- Mary J Blige
- Sir Bob Geldof
- Neil Tennant
- Sam Smith
- Chris Porter (engineer)
- Andy Morahan (video director)
'Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped' FAQ
What has Andrew Ridgeley said about "Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped"?
“It’s a privilege, 40 years on, to be able to have this opportunity to celebrate Wham!’s wonderful and enduring musical homage to Christmas and I’m absolutely thrilled that Wham! in partnership with The BBC will present this joyful and touching tribute to the nation this Christmas. Christmas was a special time of year for George and Christmas songs were a special type of song for him too and that was why he considered writing a Christmas classic one of the great achievements of his career. Only he will ever know quite what inspired him to such dizzying heights, but his songwriting genius led him to distil the quintessential essence of Christmas into a song whose breadth of appeal spans the generations. Revisiting Saas Fee, four decades on, with some of the closest friends of my youth was a very special experience and one which I know Yog would have loved to have shared in.”
How popular is the song "Last Christmas"?
"Last Christmas" has over four billion audio streams, one billion video views, reached six times Platinum sales in the U.K. and U.S., and has been the number 1 chart position in 16 countries.
What else can I watch on BBC iPlayer?
Lots – including "Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light", "Strictly Come Dancing", "Renaissance: The Blood and the Beauty", "Sherwood" and much more.
