Blagojevich to appear on 'Celebrity Apprentice'

Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) will return to the spotlight in March when he joins this season's cast of "Celebrity Apprentice," the NBC reality show created by Donald Trump.

Blagojevich -- forced out of the governor's mansion last year for allegedly trying to barter off President Barack Obama's open Senate seat -- will join 13 other contestants on the show, including comedian-actor Sinbad, former Rock of Love star Bret Michaels and former baseball player Darryl Strawberry.

Interestingly enough, "Celebrity Apprentice" will not be Blago's first experience with reality television, reports the AP.

In the spring of 2009 Blagojevich auditioned for the NBC show "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here," a "Survivor" style show featuring mostly B-List celebs attempting to live in the jungles of Costa Rica. But a court order prevented Blajojevich from leaving the country to participate in the filming. Patti Blagojevich, took his place, and was one of the last contestants to be eliminated.

"It's a wilderness period for me," Blagojevich later said. "But sometimes real opportunities develop in your life's journey that you can't really see when you're facing tumultuous times and the kind of storm that I'm facing."