Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, seen leaving U.S. federal court in Chicago in 2009, will compete on the forthcoming edition of The Celebrity Apprentice. (M. Spencer Green/Associated Press)

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Poison singer Bret Michaels and reality TV stalwart Sharon Osbourne are the latest famous faces set to face Donald Trump in the boardroom on the next edition of The Celebrity Apprentice.

NBC has unveiled the roster of the forthcoming edition of the television series, which gets underway in March.

Blagojevich — who was removed from office about a year ago and faces a host of U.S. federal corruption charges, including for allegedly scheming to auction off U.S. President Barack Obama's former senate seat — is likely the most controversial of the upcoming season's 14 participants.

"The conventional thinking among a lot of traditional lawyers is that you simply don't do these things, you don't say anything, you hide somewhere until you have your day in court," Blagojevich said in an interview conducted last fall.

He added that his instinct is "to fight back."

"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."

It won't be the disgraced governor's first attempt at reality TV fame. Last spring, he tried to join another NBC television competition, I'm a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here. However his participation in the Costa Rica-set production was barred by a federal judge. His wife competed in his place.

Also no strangers to reality TV are singer Michaels — who starred in the dating show Rock of Love with Bret Michaels —- and music manager Osbourne, who starred with husband Ozzy and two of her children in the family chronicle The Osbournes as well as having judged TV talent competitions such as The X Factor and America's Got Talent.

Others taking part in the next Celebrity Apprentice include:

• Comedian and actor Sinbad
• Comedian and author Carol Leifer
• Pro wrestler and actor Goldberg
• Baseball great Darryl Strawberry
• Olympic champion sprinter Michael Johnson
• Olympic swimmer Summer Sanders
• TV chef Curtis Stone
• Singer Cyndi Lauper
• Actress Holly Robinson Peete
• Lingerie model Selita Ebanks
• Professional wrestler and model Maria Kanellis

"I live a fairly normal life. I'm a mom with two kids," Olympian Sanders, who is championing the Right to Play, which uses sport to improve the lives of disadvantaged children, said in an interview.

"But to have the opportunity to introduce my charity to the world is the reason I chose to do this."

Unlike the regular edition of The Apprentice, which has contestants complete business-oriented tasks in an attempt to win a job working for real estate mogul Trump, the celebrity participants compete to raise funds for their chosen charities.

With files from The Associated Press