A peak of 11 million viewers tuned in to last night's live episode of The Bill, according to early overnights.

The episode, marking the cop drama's twentieth anniversary, was seen by an average 9.9 million viewers - a 40% share of the audience - over an hour from 8pm.

Ratings peaked in the final five minutes when 11 million (44.3%) watched PC Gary Best fall from a roof.

ITV's new reality series Holiday Showdown benefited from the strong lead-in, averaging 7.0 million viewers (31.7%) over an hour from 9pm.