The KLF who brought us the classic number 1 hit of 1988, “Doctorin The TARDIS”, (under the pseudonym The Timelords) are to have a special programme dedicated to them this Sunday, August 27th, on BBC 6 Music at 13:00 (BST)

The KLF are back and to celebrate the publication of their new novel, we look back on their incredibly influential and controversial career.

From burning one million pounds in cash to leaving a dead sheep at the Brit Awards, the KLF / K Foundation / Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu have never failed to shock and intrigue their fans and the music press. In this special programme, we look at how important they were, who they influenced and how they are still relevant today.

With insights from the people who worked with them and knew them, we’ll find out just what makes The KLF so incredibly important in music history.

Journalist Jim Reid will tell us exactly what it was like being the only person other than the band and their friend to witness the burning of a million pounds, their long time press agent Mick Houghton will tell talk about being behind some of the most elaborate and significant “stunts” in modern music and Turner Prize winning artist Jeremy Deller will reveal what it was like to collaborate with them on a video project.

We’ll also attempt to find out what the future of The KLF might be – with exclusive access to a special event held in Liverpool, to celebrate their return.

In a poll recently conducted by BBC Worldwide* on the viewing habits and attitudes towards British programmes of those living in seven Asian territories,  Malaysians were the most avid fans of British drama with 65% of those sampled frequently tuning in to the likes of Doctor Who, Silent Witness and SS-GB. Viewers in India and China, by contrast, enjoy more light-hearted programmes with British humour, making comedies the most popular British genre in these two countries.

Malaysia is also the top country in South East Asia (SEA) to prefer British content (59%) over American TV (46%). And they watch it regularly – with almost 60% of  the 727 Malaysians polled regularly watching British TV programmes and video content. Some of the programmes most popular among BBC Player users in Malaysia are Doctor Who Series 10, Planet Earth II and Top Gear Series 24.

British accents are hot in Malaysia

When asked what they love the most about British TV, over 50% of the Malaysian respondents cited the British accent, ahead of other options like documentaries and British humour.  In contrast, Singapore, India, Hong Kong and China indicated the British humour as what they love most about British TV, and Taiwan favourited British food shows .

Food and the Internet

It is a nationally acknowledged fact that Malaysians love their food. So it’s no surprise that a question on viewing habits revealed how almost 60% of Malaysians love to eat while watching TV. This compared to browsing social media platforms (65%) and the Internet (64%).

Watch it with Beckham

Ex professional footballer turned international model and TV presenter David Beckham is high in demand in Malaysia, edging out high functioning sociopath Sherlock and vocal powerhouse Adele to be the number one personality that Malaysians want to watch TV with. This was unanimous with four other territories – Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and China. Watching with Beckham might not be possible, but watching him is. Watch footballing legend David Beckham play a football match on all seven continents in 10 days on David Beckham: For the Love of the Game, available on BBC Player.

For detailed results, please refer to the infographic.

*The BBC Worldwide poll sampled over 6,000 people aged 16 to 64 across seven Asian markets – Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and India.

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t a Whovian.

Even when the original series of Doctor Who came to an end in 1989, I continued adding to my collection of memorabilia, reading the novels and hoping that one day, the show might come back.

The show also influenced my decision to become a journalist as I grew up watching the adventures of companion, Sarah Jane Smith and the Fourth Doctor. In my young mind at the time, it made sense to become a journalist because hey, maybe I could be chased by robot mummies like SJS, who if you remember, was a journalist by trade.

This declaration confuses some people who ask me why I chose my current occupation. I know I’m supposed to say something like “I wanted to be on TV” or “I wanted to make a difference” and although the latter is true, it came after my decision to want to be Sarah Jane Smith.

Now that may sound strange coming from someone who identifies strongly as a Torres Strait Islander woman, but it never occurred to me as a young girl growing up in a mining town on the western side of Cape York that Sarah Jane Smith wasn’t like me.

That’s the thing about seeing yourself reflected on the TV screen or a film screen – I didn’t realise I was “different” until someone pointed it out to me.

I thought I was like everyone else. Yes, I got questions from other children in my primary school who were curious about why my mum was white and why my dad was black, but I never thought it was strange. One time, after getting a few of these questions in grade five, I thought taking my mum in for show-and-tell might be a good idea, until she told me to stop being lazy and come up with a better topic.

That was until I experienced racism (and understood what it was) for the first time as a nine or 10-year old. I actually had no clue what the word was that the young boy had called me on the oval during big lunch, until I got home and asked my mum what it meant.

It was pretty clear from her reaction that she wasn’t happy.

It sounds weird, but that was the moment when everything changed for me. I realised I was different and that my skin wasn’t the same colour as most of the kids in my class.

It was then that I really started searching out “others” who looked like me on the TV shows I watched, the films I saw and the books I read.

In its nearly 54-year history, Doctor Who has only had two women of colour as companions (and Mickey, best known as the boyfriend of companion Rose Tyler of the ninth and 10th doctors).

I can’t explain how excited I was when Freema Agyeman was announced as the Doctor’s first black companion, Martha Jones, in the show’s then 43-year history (and now Pearl Mackie has joined that club).

What it really meant to me was that my nieces and nephews would now have someone who looked like them in my favourite TV show, which they would love even if they didn’t want to!

They’re growing up at a time when they can turn on the TV and see Cleverman, RAN: Remote Area Nurse, Aboriginal presenters (and other people of colour) on Playschool, Jessica Mauboy singing on a national stage, and channels like NITV.

They can read stories from Magabala Books, see Samantha Harris on the front cover of Vogue Australia, or go to the movies to see Finn from Star Wars: Force Awakens and T’Challa in next year’s Black Panther feature film.

Even though it seems they’ll see themselves represented more in film and on TV, that doesn’t mean that more can’t be done to add to what feels like a slowly turning tide.

Seeing how excited they get when they meet someone they recognise from a film or TV programme that has someone like them on it is something money can’t buy, but it speaks volumes to me, as their aunty, about how important it still is to see themselves represented in a positive way.

Sarah Jane Smith made me want to become a journalist, but maybe my nieces will grow up wanting to become doctors like Martha Jones.

• Rhianna Patrick is descendant of the Zagareb and Wagadagam clans of the Torres Strait and is a journalist at the ABC in Australia.