Drake Bell opens up about experiencing sexual assault at Nickelodeon

The star of Drake & Josh will be a featured guest on the docuseries Quiet on Set, which details the dark behind-the-scenes world of Nickelodeon.

Early last month, a trailer for a bombshell docuseries was released that recounts the shocking behind-the-scenes behavior of Dan Schneider while he ran multiple shows at the Nickelodeon network. Schneider was a former TV star from the show Head of the Class, but he became a producing machine as he cranked out sitcoms for a younger audience on the cable channel. He was responsible for shows like All That, Kenan & Kel, Drake & Josh, iCarly, Zoey 101 and more. The docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is set to premiere across two nights on Investigation Discovery on March 17 and March 18.

At the end of the trailer, there was an ominous tease of an empty chair and an interviewer off-camera asking, “Have you ever told your story publicly before?” It has now been revealed that Drake Bell of The Amanda Show and Drake & Josh will be taking that seat in front of the camera. Variety reports that Bell is coming forward about being sexually assaulted by his acting coach Brian Peck, who is of no relation to his Drake & Josh co-star, Josh Peck.

Bell starts his appearance in the third episode of the series as he proclaims, “My name is Drake Bell and I came here today to tell my story.” Bell and his young co-stars would spend a lot of time with Brian Peck at his house and though there were many red flags, both kids and parents would dismiss their instincts and give Peck the benefit of the doubt since nothing had actually happened. Bell would then start to recall one morning when he was fifteen, everything had changed. “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 sexually 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.”

The episodes featuring Bell will tell how he was unable to come forward and how the experiences would influence his recent self-destructive behavior. The docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is a four-part series that will also interview female employees who worked on Schneider’s many shows. The docuseries is directed by Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz.

About the Author

E.J. is a News Editor at JoBlo, as well as a Video Editor, Writer, and Narrator for some of the movie retrospectives on our JoBlo Originals YouTube channel, including Reel Action, Revisited and some of the Top 10 lists. He is a graduate of the film program at Missouri Western State University with concentrations in performance, writing, editing and directing.