Tomic on I’m a Celeb: genius or overpriced risk?

IF Bernard Tomic does go into the jungle for I’m a Celebrity Ten are running the risk he could be this year’s Tom Arnold: an expensive sulky bore who gets voted off first, writes Colin Vickery.

GET your priorities right.

That was my first thought when I heard that Bernard Tomic is bragging about being offered more than $1 million to be a contestant on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!

The 25-year-old tennis star, whose ranking has plummeted from 17 to 170 in the world, has reportedly thrown away the opportunity to play for an Australian Open wildcard to be on Ten’s jungle-based reality show.

If the rumours are true, Tomic would rather spend time with The Block’s Suzi Taylor, singer Shannon Noll, boxer Danny Green, and footballer Warwick Capper — or some other combination of B-grade celebrities — on a camp bed in South Africa than on centre court.

I’ve always been a bit of a fan of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! but I’m questioning whether I would be tempted to watch this year’s season if Tomic is part of the mix.

I reckon Tomic could be about as much fun as US comedian Tom Arnold was last year. Arnold was a grump who spent most of his time in the jungle sleeping or sitting in the corner sulking.

Ten spent hundreds of thousands of dollars luring him to the show and he was a wash — the first celebrity voted off.

If the rumours are true, Channel Ten is taking an expensive punt on tennis sook Bernard Tomic. (Pic: Justin Tallis/AFP)

Instead, viewers warmed to singer Casey Donovan, comedian Nazeem Hussain, singer and actor Natalie Bassingthwaighte, and in a bit of a shock, The Project’s Steve Price.

The show’s 2016 big signing, Shane Warne, only made it into the top five. It was former AFL star Brendon Fevola, probably paid a pittance compared to Warne, who won.

The Brady Bunch’s Maureen McCormick was the overseas drawcard for 2015’s first season and she delivered in spades.

But that Hollywood fame didn’t keep McCormick in the final mix. Former cricketer Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff, former AFL footballer Barry Hall, and broadcaster Chrissie Swan were there at the pointy end.

There are plenty of Tomic haters out there who I’m sure would get pleasure seeing him forced to eat bugs, bathe in elephant dung, crawl into a snake-infested hole, or down food covered in maggots.

But even they would get pretty sick of hearing him bang on about how rich he is, how many luxury cars he has, and how his career earnings have topped $7 million.

“You guys can only dream of what I have at 24,” Tomic once told tennis fans. “Just go back to dreaming about your dream car or house while I go buy them.”

I can’t see his fellow celebrities — or viewers — standing for that sort of guff.

Brendan Fevola’s stint on I’m a Celeb restored his reputation.

And Shane Warne’s time on the show won him plenty of unlikely fans.

I’m taking bets on how long it would be before Tomic drops the dreaded “B” word. This is a bloke who gets bored when he is playing a match at Wimbledon. God knows how he would cope sitting around a campfire for weeks on end.

Tomic doesn’t care what people think of him. He is a divisive figure and I am sure that is why Channel Ten has reportedly chased him to be part of the show.

Fevola and Hall have shown that it is often sport bad-boys who connect most with viewers because they redeem themselves in some way.

We see them stripped raw, we hear them talk of their failings, we understand they are far more complicated than the headlines suggest.

So maybe I’m wrong. Maybe six weeks in the jungle away from the pressures of professional tennis is just what Tomic needs to clear his head — it might be better than therapy.

Perhaps my view of Tomic would change if I saw him on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!

But I can’t help thinking my admiration would grow more if he simply decided to play tennis to the best of his ability.

Colin Vickery is a News Corp senior TV writer.