Before we set off on our trip to France and Spain, I took out a subscription to Nord VPN to make sure I could use BBC Iplayer.
I use the Duck Duck Go browser, with an activated feature which blocks tracking from apps. For some reason this always shows as a VPN at the top of the screen. When I activated the Nord app, I had to deactivate the DDG app tracking blocker.
With Nord activated, I was blocked from BBC iplayer and the uk version of the BBC webpage. I then discovered that with Nord deactivated and the DDG app blocker back on, I could access and use Iplayer in France and Spain.
I then cancelled Nord and got a refund as I was within the trial period. I'm still in France and using Iplayer