Former child star Drake Bell is ready to break his silence about his time working with Nickelodeon speech coach Brian Peck, including the abuse he allegedly suffered.
The “Drake & Josh” and “All That” star, 37, will be among the interview subjects for the upcoming documentary “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.” A preview of the documentary released Tuesday shows Bell preparing to speak about her experience.
In the clip, interview subjects and “All That” alums Bryan Hearne and Giovonnie Samuels speculate about “who was being hurt” by Peck, who served as a dialogue coach on shows like “The Amanda Show.” and “All That.” Bell starred in the former from 1999 to 2002, then co-starred with Josh Peck in the Nickelodeon comedy “Drake & Josh” from 2004 to 2007.
Just before the short clip ends, Bell, dressed in a seafoam green suit, enters an unlit room, takes a deep breath, and sits down in a chair, ready to tell his story.
“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,” reads the clip's description on YouTube.
Representatives for Bell and Brian Peck did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment.
Los Angeles police arrested Brian Peck in 2003 for “lewd acts with a child.” The alleged acts involved an unidentified minor who received training from Peck, according to a 2003 police statement. The alleged abuse also occurred at Peck's home in Valley Glen. Prior to the arrest, the boy's family reported that Peck allegedly sexually abused the boy “over a six-month period.”
A year later, in 2004, Peck was convicted of child abuse after pleading no contest to performing a lewd act on a 14- or 15-year-old child and oral copulation with a minor, according to multiple reports. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender.
The allegations against Peck will be among those examined in “Quiet on Set,” a four-part documentary from Investigation Discovery. The project says it will “pull back the curtain” on former Nickelodeon creator and producer Dan Schneider's television empire, which included “iCarly,” “Victorious” and “Drake & Josh.”
“'Quiet on Set' reveals an insidious environment rife with accusations of abuse, sexism, racism, and inappropriate dynamics with its underage stars and crew,” an identifying description read.
For years, former child stars have spoken out against the alleged abuse they suffered at the hands of Schneider and other Nickelodeon bosses. Jennette McCurdy alleged in her 2022 memoir that the network offered her a paycheck to keep her quiet about disturbing experiences from her time on set when she starred in “iCarly.” “Zoey 101” actress Alexa Nikolas led a protest in 2022 outside the Nickelodeon studio in Burbank, claiming that she and her fellow actors “were not safe.”
“Personally, I didn't feel protected on Nickelodeon as a kid,” Nikolas said in a livestream of the protest. “I demand that Nickelodeon start protecting children and not predators.”
Nikolas, Kyle Sullivan and Katrina Johnson are among the former stars who will share their experiences with Nickelodeon for the documentary. “Quiet on Set” airs on ID at 9 pm local time, starting March 17.
