How and Why Drake Bell Turned Tables on His Abuser, Confronted Brian Peck’s Supporters in Court

For the first time ever, former child actor Drake Bell has come forward as the unnamed victim in the 2003 arrest and conviction for sexual abuse of Nickelodeon dialogue and acting coach Brian Peck in ID’s docuseries, ‘Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.’

The shocking revelation came as part of ID’s larger look at alleged tyranny under Nickelodeon executive Dan Schneider in its upcoming docuseries, “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.” Schneider was never accused of any physical abuse.

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Bell enjoyed a long relationship with the kids network, starting in 1999 on The Amanda Show, and then All That before landing his own show in 2004, Drake & Josh. He first met Brian Peck on Season 2 of Amanda.

According to Bell, the inappropriate physical relationship between him and Peck came as a result of Peck isolating him from his colleagues and even his father, who worked as his manager at the time and questioned the time they were spending together.

Eventually, the elder Bell felt pushed out of his son’s life, while the younger Bell started staying at Peck’s home while he was working in LA (his mother lived in Orange County).

Bell detailed escalating physical contact and “mental manipulation” by Peck, leaving the teen actor confused and feeling trapped. “I had no way out,” he said in the docuseries. “The abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal.”

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“I don’t know how to elaborate on that on camera, really,” Bell continued. “Why don’t you think of the worst stuff that someone could do to somebody as a sexual assault, and that’ll answer your question. I don’t know how else to put it.”

Due to Peck’s influence and connections in the industry, Bell felt that if he did speak out, his career would probably come to a permanent end. And yet, there was a final move by Peck that proved too much for Bell, who admitted he “exploded” and unloaded his whole truth to his mom.

That moment came during reshoots of the Drake & Josh pilot when he learned that Peck was trying to get himself cast as the dad for the show. It proved too much for Bell. “I was like, ‘That is not going to happen, you’re not coming anywhere near this show,'” he said.

As soon as he opened up to his mother, she involved the police and Bell found himself in the middle of a “brutal” investigation. He said he had to share “excruciatingly detailed” stories of everything that happened to him, and that was just the start.

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He was then involved with the police’s attempts to take down his abuser. “The worst part was I had to make a phone call to Brian and get him to admit what he’d done,” Bell recalled.

On a recorded line with Peck, Bell spoke with his former abuser about what he’d gone through, saying, “I’m really struggling with this stuff now. I’m so torn up, I’m so broken, I’m so emotionally distressed right now. Why did this happen?”

The actor then said that Peck “just started a full-on confession. He kept asking me over and over again, he was like, ‘Are we being recorded?'”

Bell detailed how the turmoil and stress at this time started to impact him physically. “I was losing my hair, I had these big scabs on my head,” he shared. “These emotions that were going through me, it’s relief and fear, you know, am I going to survive this?”

Ultimately, Peck pleaded no contest to two charges of child sexual abuse and was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender.

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Bell was at Peck’s hearing, where he was shocked to discover the courtroom filled with Peck’s supporters, including a lot of famous faces. Additionally, there were 41 letters of support written to the judge.

Boy Meets World stars Will Friedle and Rider Strong were among them, with the pair already expressing their regrets for it on their podcast. Additional letters came from James Marsden, Taran Killam, Growing Pains parents Alan Thicke and Joanna Kerns, as well as Drake & Josh director Rich Correll and stage manager Beth Correll, per TMZ.

Bell took the stand at Peck’s hearing, though he said he had “no reason” to address Peck himself. Instead, he turned his attention to all of Peck’s supporters.

“I looked at all of them and I just said, ‘How dare you?’ I said, ‘You will forever have the memory of sitting in this courtroom and defending this person. And I will forever have the memory of the person you’re defending violating me and doing unspeakable acts and crimes and that’s what I will remember.'”

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV airs across two nights starting at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 17 and Monday, March 18.

If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault, get help. The National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-HOPE [4673]) provides 24/7, free, confidential support for people in need.