SKOKIE, Illinois (AP) – Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich wasn't allowed to star in a network TV reality show in Costa Rica, so his wife, Patti, will appear instead.

Blagojevich, who was impeached and removed from office in January, is charged with scheming to sell or trade President Barack Obama's US Senate seat and using the muscle of the governor's office to squeeze companies with state business for campaign contributions. Blagojevich has pleaded not guilty.

A federal judge barred Blagojevich from being on the NBC show "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here" because it would send him out of the United States.

But his wife, Patti, accepted an offer from the network to appear instead and went to Los Angeles last week to film a promotional shoot, said Glenn Selig, the Blagojevichs' publicist.

"After being in, you know, Chicago and Illinois politics for this many years, the jungle doesn't seem too scary," Patti Blagojevich said last week during an interview on Chicago's WVON radio. Both Blagojeviches are unemployed and Patti Blagojevich has said she probably wouldn't have considered appearing on reality TV if it weren't for her family's financial situation. She won't divulge how much she'll be paid. The couple announced the move last week on NBC's "Today" show. Patti Blagojevich said she hopes her appearance on the reality series will help show that she isn't the profanity-spewing person portrayed on federal wiretaps. "I don't think those characterisations were fair at all," she said.

The show begins airing on June 1. Patti Blagojevich says she has attended yoga classes inside a room heated to more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit to help her acclimate to Costa Rica's hot weather. Others appearing on the show include "American Idol" contestant Sanjaya Malakar, MTV stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt and actor Stephen Baldwin.