Nickelodeon has been a part of almost all of our childhoods but it’s safe to say that those memories are now tainted thanks to the documentary, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV. While many ex-Nickelodeon actors spoke up against Dan Schneider, Drake Bell is extending his gratitude to the producer for supporting him in his dark days.
For context, Drake Bell recently opened up about the s-xual assault he faced at the hands of Nickelodeon’s dialogue and acting coach, Brian Peck. Telling his story, he revealed that while Brian Peck was committing such atrocities, it was only Dan Schneider who made sure that Drake Bell was okay and was always there to help him out.
Drake Bell Opens Up about Brian Peck
Back in 2023, Brian Peck was arrested on eleven charges including lewd act upon a child 14 or 15 by a person ten years older. At the time, there was no mention about who the minor was but now, Drake Bell is finally opening up about what actually happened during his time on the channel.
On Investigation Discovery’s Quiet on Set documentary, Bell stated (via Variety), “My name is Drake Bell and I came here today to tell my story.” He went into gruesome details of the time he spent with Peck, especially when as a young actor he had to stay over at Peck’s house in Los Angeles. Recalling one of the gut-wrenching incidents from one of those times, Bell said,
“I was sleeping on the couch where I would usually sleep. I woke up to him — I opened my eyes, I woke up and he was s-xually assaulting me. I froze and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react, and I have no idea how to get out of this situation.”
Later, Peck would become “so apologetic” and promised that he would never do something like this ever again. However, Bell says that this was not the case and the abuse continued.
“He figured out how to convince my mom and everyone around to, anytime I would have an audition or anytime I needed to work on dialogue or anything, I somehow ended up back at Brian’s house and it just got worse and worse and worse and worse. I was just trapped. I had no way out. The abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal.”
In 2004, Peck pleaded no contest to the eleven charges and was sentenced to sixteen months in prison. He was also registered as a s-x offender. As of now, he is living in Los Angeles and has not worked in the industry since 2019.
Dan Schneider Was There to Help Drake Bell
The documentary revealed that when the case was made against Peck, over 40 people wrote character letters in favor of Peck. This included Enchanted actor James Marsden, Alan Thicke, Will Friedle, Rider Strong, and more. Bell stated that “not one person who’s written one of those letters” personally reached out to apologize to him.
Talking about Dan Schneider, the Drake and Josh actor stated that he was the only one from the network who tried to make sure he was okay.
“I can only speak from my experience, and I can’t take away from anyone else’s experience. I can just say that during this time with Brian, Dan was really the only one from the network that even made an effort to help me and make sure I was okay.”
When social media users blamed Bell’s mother for not protecting him well enough, the actor stated that it was easy to get fooled by Peck who was so calculated in his actions. He understands how the acting coach was able to “pull the wool over everyone’s eyes,” and uphold a positive image.
You can stream Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV on Max.
