Breaking Bad, the cult U.S. meth drama starring Bryan Cranston, is to become available in full on UK terrestrial television for the first time. A new free-to-view channel Spike will air the award-winning series in its entirety when it launches on Freeview, Freesat and Sky on April 15.

Breaking BadBreaking Bad is one of the biggest dramas in recent memory

The first two series of the show - which followed a science teacher who turns meth dealer following his cancer diagnosis - aired on both FX and Five USA but were dropped when they failed to pull in a significant audience. Still, the show became one of the most popular dramas on U.S television and garnered a cult fan-base. Series three, four or five have never been shown on terrestrial TV.

Spike will also be the first UK channel to show series five of The Walking Dead as well as the US pop culture hot Lip Sync Battle, hosted by LL Cool J. The series was created by Stephen Merchant, John Krasinski, among others.

More: Vince Gilligan asks Breaking Bad fans to stop throwing pizza at house

The team has also nabbed the UK premiere of Olympus, the Greek fantasy drama, as well as future episodes of Justified.

"Spike is a driven, high-energy channel offering a point of view and programme mix I think is different from anything else on British TV right now. I can't wait to see our viewers embrace this exhilarating new channel," said Ben Frow, Channel 5's Programme Director.

Breaking Bad concluded with a gripping final season in 2013. It won five Primetime Emmys in 2014 including best actor for Bryan Cranston and best drama series.

More: Bryan Cranston jokes about Breaking Bad action figures petition