4.4 million viewers in the UK tune in for the final-ever episode of 'The Bill'.

ITV1′s long-running police drama ‘The Bill’ came to an end on Tuesday night after 26 seasons and 2400 episodes.

Over 4.4 million viewers in the UK tuned in to farewell Britain’s longest-running drama, just beating rival channel BBC1 by a few hundred thousand viewers.

The BAFTA award-winning drama has been a institution for the ITV network, spanning 27-years on the air and with an impressive line up of actors and guest stars, including Hugh Laurie, John Hannah, Sean Bean, Kiera Knightley, James MacAvoy, David Tennant and even Australia’s own Daniel MacPherson.

ITV announced the cancellation of ‘The Bill’ back in March, citing a drop in ratings.

The two-part series finale of ‘The Bill’ will go to air October 16 with a farewell special to air on October 23 in Australia on ABC1.