Dominic Raab has been tipped for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! after quitting as Deputy Prime Minister.
The 49-year-old was forced to resign on Friday after a damning bullying probe into his behaviour at three Whitehall departments.
Now, just hours after his resignation, bookies are already lining him up for a slew of reality TV appearances.
Interestingly they believe the former foreign secretary will follow in Matt Hancock’s bid to reinvent himself by trying to become a TV celebrity on the next series of I’m A Celeb.
UK betting community OLBG make him 4/1 to be a campmate on the jungle show after ITV producers gained huge publicity taking his Tory colleague Down Under last year.
Mr Raab’s reputation as a confrontational Deputy PM sees him 8/1 to opt to test his strength by signing up for the next series of SAS Who Dares Wins.
Odds on him joining BBC ballroom stalwart Strictly Come Dancing is a long shot this winter, however, with odds currently standing at 33/1.
An OLBG spokesperson said: “Raab is not going down without a fight and that’s why a tell-all book is 6/1 to be released. He will know where plenty of skeletons are hidden and doesn’t seem scared to take anyone down who has crossed him.
“Matt Hancock was such a controversial figure in the Jungle, but he got huge publicity which is what the TV bosses want so they could easily repeat the trick by going for someone like Raab.”
Mr Raab’s possible new career change comes after he fired off an angry letter as he quit the Government a day after Rishi Sunak had been handed the report by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC.
“Whilst I feel duty bound to accept the outcome of the inquiry, it dismissed all but two of the claims levelled against me,” Mr Raab said, having pledged to quit if he was found to have bullied civil servants.
The Justice Secretary criticised the two findings against him as “flawed”.
He also argued in his letter to the PM: “In setting the threshold for bullying so low, this inquiry has set a dangerous precedent.
“It will encourage spurious complaints against ministers and have a chilling effect on those driving change on behalf of your government.”
My resignation statement.👇 pic.twitter.com/DLjBfChlFq
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) April 21, 2023
Mr Raab, a former lawyer and karate black belt, is believed to have faced eight complaints against him relating to his time at the Foreign Office, Ministry of Justice and former Brexit Department.
He had run for the Tory leadership himself in 2019 and backed Mr Sunak in 2022’s contests for No 10.
His loyalty was rewarded by the new PM, who returned him to the roles of Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary which he had previously held under Boris Johnson.
But the decision caused consternation in Whitehall, where there had long been rumours about Mr Raab’s behaviour towards officials in his departments.
Working with Mr Raab led some to suffer “mental health crises”, according to union chiefs.
But allies of Mr Raab downplayed his behaviour as “demanding” and suggested officials should be prepared to work in challenging situations.
The five-month bullying inquiry found he had overstepped the mark on at least some occasions.
