Line of Duty's controversial final episode has broken a huge ratings record, becoming the most-watched drama of the 21st century.
The series 6 finale aired earlier this month, though proved divisive among fans after finally revealing who 'The Fourth Man', aka 'H', was after years of anticipation.
And a big chunk of the nation was watching, with the episode drawing in 15.24 million viewers, beating the previous record-holder Heartbeat, which aired more than 20 years ago.
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The figures include seven-day catch-up views, as we already knew the episode had earned 12.8 million overnight viewers, becoming the most-watched episode of any drama since that 2000 episode of Heartbeat.
The 15.24 million figure also puts Line of Duty in an elite club including The Great British Bake Off (15.9 million, October 2016), EastEnders (16.4 million, February 2010), Gavin & Stacey (17.1 million, December 2019) and The X Factor (17.7 million, December 2010).
Related: Line of Duty season 7 – What's going on with the future of the BBC police drama?
Despite the mixed reception to the finale, creator Jed Mercurio recently defended the episode, taking to Twitter to point to audience research that shows a "far less extreme picture" than on social media.
Some of the show's stars have also addressed the backlash, with Martin Compston saying: "Fully understand it wasn't the 'urgent exit' type ending some anticipated but appreciate you sticking with us."
Line of Duty airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The series 1-6 boxset is already available to pre-order.
![Line of Duty - Series 6 [DVD]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1619694234-51OEt86seL._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "Line of Duty - Series 6 [DVD]")
![Line of Duty - Series 1-6 Complete Box Set [DVD]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1619694217-51F29MpAjlS._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "Line of Duty - Series 1-6 Complete Box Set [DVD]")
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