Drake Bell, the star of Nickelodeon’s sitcom “Drake & Josh,” has publicly opened up about being sexually abused by Nickelodeon dialogue and acting coach Brian Peck. Bell spoke about his experience in “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” — an upcoming docuseries from Investigation Discovery about the alleged toxic culture behind some of TV producer Dan Schneider’s most iconic children’s shows.
“Brian and I became really close because we had a lot of the same interests, which looking back, I think that was probably a little calculated,” Bell, now 37, recounted in the docuseries. Bell met Peck in 2000, after the former landed an acting job on Nickelodeon's “The Amanda Show” in 1999. During the show’s second season, Peck grew closer to Bell and would invite him to his house for acting lessons.
According to the documentary, the actor’s father Joe Bell felt uncomfortable with Peck but was dismissed by the production team when he brought up his concerns. Joe Bell said he eventually “backed off” after feeling “ostracized” on set.
Peck later became Drake Bell's manager, which only exacerbated tensions between the actor and his father. Bell would also frequently spend the night at Peck's house so he could attend acting auditions in Los Angeles.
“I was sleeping on the couch where I usually sleep and I woke up to him . . . I opened my eyes and I woke up and he was . . . he was sexually assaulting me,” Bell, who was 15 at the time, said. “And I froze, and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react.”
Bell said the abuse happened more than once and that he often looks back at that time and wonders “how in the world I survived.”
In 2004, Peck pleaded no contest to two charges of sexual abuse: oral copulation with a minor under 16 and performing a lewd act with a 14- or 15-year-old. Peck spent 16 months in prison and was mandated to register as a sex offender.
"Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV" airs across two nights, Sunday and Monday, March 17-18, on Investigation Discovery.
