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Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell is going forward on the upcoming Investigation Discovery series “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” to allege that she was a victim of sexual abuse by Brian Peck. Peck worked as a dialogue coach on Nickelodeon’s “All That” and “The Amanda Show,” the latter starring Bell from 1999 to 2002. Bell would headline his own Nickelodeon series in 2004 with “Drake & Josh.”
Peck was arrested in August 2003 on more than a dozen charges related to sexual abuse allegations involving an unidentified minor. In May 2004, Peck pleaded no contest to charges of performing a lewd act on a 14- or 15-year-old and oral copulation with a minor under 16. (It is still unclear who these victims are, and Bell has not yet specified the nature of the abuse he experienced, although it is likely he will do so when “Quiet on Set” airs later this month.) Peck was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender in October 2004.
A clip from “Quiet on Set” shows Bell approaching to talk about Peck. A press release from Investigation Discovery says: “The clip reveals that former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell will publicly share, for the first time, the story of the abuse he suffered at the hands of Brian Peck, his former speech coach who was convicted in 2004. for his crimes against Drake and was ordered to register as a sex offender.”
Variety has contacted Peck and Bell representatives for further comment.
Peck was recently in the news due to an episode of the “Pod Meets World” podcast in which “Boys Meets World” cast members Rider Strong and Will Friedle recalled working with Peck on the show. They had been asked to comment for the documentary series, but they wanted to talk about his experience on their podcast.
Peck guest-starred on two episodes of “Boy Meets World” in season 5 and quickly became friends with Strong and Friedle. When Peck was accused of sexual abuse in 2003, he allegedly called Friedle and was crying while she “instantly told him it wasn’t her fault, it was clearly her victim’s fault.”
Friedle admitted on the podcast that he believed Peck at first, adding, “My instinct initially was, ‘My friend, this can’t be.’ It has to be the other person’s fault. The story makes a lot of sense because of the way it is told.”
Peck later asked Strong and Friedle to support him in court, which they did. Friedle recalled: “We’re sitting in that courtroom on the wrong side of everything… The victim’s mother turned around and said, ‘Look at all the famous people you brought with you. And that doesn’t change what you did to my son,’” Friedle explained. “I sat there wanting to die. It was like, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’ It was horrible in every way.”
“Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” is a four-part documentary series that reveals the toxic working conditions behind children’s shows in the 1990s and early 2000s, specifically those of Dan Schneider, the creator of the Beloved Nickelodeon shows like “iCarly.” and “Zoey 101.” The series airs March 17 and 18 on Investigation Discovery.
