Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
Former child actor Drake Bell opens up about Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck’s alleged abuse in Quiet on Set. ID’s latest docuseries, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, premiered on Sunday, March 17, 2024. The four-part series delves into the allegations against Peck, former writer-producer Dan Schneider, production assistant Jason Handy, and animator Ezel Channel, among others.
Several child actors who played roles in hit shows during Nickelodeon’s golden period and staff members are speaking out about the alleged abuse. They have also mentioned a toxic environment on show sets fueled by racism, sexism, and sexual assault.
Drake Bell, who played one of the leads in Drake & Josh, is opening up about Brian Peck’s abuse for the first time. According to Variety, Bell claimed to be the anonymous teenager whose accusations led to Peck’s arrest and conviction two decades ago.
In 2004, Peck had pleaded no contest to performing a lewd act with a 14 or 15-year-old and to oral copulation with a minor under 16. He then spent 16 months in prison and eventually registered as a sex offender.
What did Brian Peck do to Drake Bell?
Brian Peck worked as a dialogue coach on The Amanda Show, which also starred Drake Bell. Entertainment Weekly stated that Bell said, “Why don’t you do this: why don’t you think of the worst stuff that somebody could do to somebody as a sexual assault, and that’ll answer your question. I don’t know how else to put it. It was not a one-time thing, it was not a ‘Oops.'”
Per the outlet, Bell, now 37, openly discussed his relationship with Peck, now 63, while they worked on the show together. In the documentary, he revealed that the two initially bonded over “a lot of the same interests.” However, looking back, Bell now believes “that was probably a little calculated.”
Drake Bell’s father and manager, Joe Bell, who also appeared in Quiet on Set, said he soon began questioning Brian Peck’s behavior. Joe said Peck began hanging “around Drake too much, and it didn’t sit well with me. Drake would be in the dressing room or something, and in would pop Brian, and just touch Drake, you know, do things that, wait a second. What are you doing? Drake can put that on himself.”
Joe added that Peck used to “maybe walk over to Drake and be feeding him some lines.” Sometimes Peck would allegedly “put his arm around his waist. Put his hand up on his shoulder, and kinda run it down his arm, and things like that. And this would happen routinely. It was just always uncomfortable.”
Reportedly, Joe Bell claimed he expressed his worries to crew members. Joe said he went to the production and told them he was not “very uncomfortable with this guy, Brian Peck,” who was always around Drake. He claimed that while he didn’t see anything “abnormal”, he just didn’t “have a good feeling.” But, the production allegedly told the father that Peck was gay. They further called Joe “homophobic” because he didn’t understand that Peck was “a touchy-feely guy.”
EW stated after Drake Bell got his own show, Drake & Josh, Brian Peck tried to set him against his father. Bell said, “He [Peck] started talking about how my dad’s stealing my money, nobody likes that my dad’s on set, he’s a real problem.” Peck allegedly turned the actor against his father. Bell claimed he believed Peck because “he’s been in this business for so long.”
Bell further explained in Quiet on Set how Peck used the strained relationship between the teen’s parents. He reportedly convinced Bell’s mother to let him cut business ties with Joe. The dialogue coach later urged Bell’s mother to let him stay at his house and to drive him to auditions. That’s when the abuse started.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Drake Bell recalled one instance when he woke up to find Brian Peck assaulting him one morning. Bell said, “I opened my eyes, I woke up, and he was, he was sexually assaulting me. And I froze and was in complete shock, and had no idea what to do, or how to react.”
He then continued, “And I had no idea how to get out of the situation. What am I [gonna do], call my mom and be like ‘Hey, this just happened, can you come pick me up? I’ll just sit here and wait.’ I had no car, I didn’t drive. I was 15 at this time.”
Bell said, “I somehow ended up back at Brian’s house” whenever he had an audition or needed help with dialogue. “And it just got worse and worse and worse and worse, said the 37-year-old, explaining that he was “just trapped.” He claimed that there was “no way out” and that the “abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal.”
Drake Bell said his then-girlfriend’s mother realized something was wrong because Peck continuously called him at her house. She then took Bell to a therapist and encouraged him to share. The actor finally opened up to his mother about the abuse, who called the police.
A detailed account of the abuse from Bell ultimately resulted in Brian Peck’s arrest in 2003. The following year, Peck pleaded no contest to a charge of performing a lewd act with a 14 or 15-year-old and a charge of oral copulation with a minor under 16. He served a prison sentence of 16 months and also registered as a sex offender.
Bell’s identity remained a secret until his appearance on ID’s Quiet on Set. He is one of the many child actors and former crew members who detailed their accounts of abuse while working on the sets of Nickelodeon shows.
