Drake Bell says Nickelodeon dialogue coach sexually abused him

(NewsNation) — Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell says he was sexually abused by dialogue coach Brian Peck when he was a teen in the upcoming Investigation Discovery series “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.”

“Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell will be sharing publicly, for the first time, the story of the abuse he suffered at the hands of Brian Peck, his former dialogue coach who was convicted in 2004 for his crimes against Drake and ordered to register as a sex offender,” the description for a sneak peek released on Tuesday reads.

The preview clip shows several Nickelodeon cast and crew members talking about their experiences at the channel before Bell sits down in a chair at the end of the video.

Bell, now 37, appeared on Nickelodeon’s “All That” and “The Amanda Show” from 1999 to 2002, then starred in his own Nickelodeon series, “Drake & Josh.“

Peck was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department in 2003, about two years after the abuse of Bell, who was 15. At the time, the LAPD said it began investigating after “the minor’s family reported that Peck had molested the child over a six-month period.”

In 2004, Peck 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 was sentenced to 16 months in prison and was required to register as a sex offender.

At the time, it was not reported or revealed that Bell was the minor at the center of the case.

In 2021, Bell himself pleaded guilty to child endangerment in connection with sending “inappropriate” social media messages to a 15-year-old girl he had met online. He has faced criticism over the incident and has struggled with substance abuse.

Last month, “Boy Meets World” stars Rider Strong and Will Friedle said on the “Pod Meets World” podcast with co-star Danielle Fishel that they regret testifying in support of Peck at his trial and now recognize what they called his grooming and manipulative behavior.

“I didn’t really go to parties. I didn’t really do that stuff. But I was working a lot after ‘Boy Meets World,’ and this guy had so ingratiated himself into my life, I took him to three shows after ‘Boy Meets World,’” Friedle, 47, said of his strange friendship with Peck before his conviction.

Strong, 44, said he and Peck would hang out “all the time.”

“The other adults on set, who maybe could have or should have said, ‘Why are you guys going to lunch with this guy?’ ‘Why is this guy going to Rider’s house for a party?’” Fishel said. She speculated that the adults in the room were afraid to say anything because Peck is gay, and they didn’t want to appear anti-gay.

“There was probably a part of them that didn’t say it because they were afraid it was going to be taken as homophobia, instead of, ‘This is a boundary, gay or not. This is a boundary about adults and kids,'” she said.

Peck asked Strong and Friedle to testify on his behalf in court, and they agreed. Friedle said he felt at the time that he owed Peck for previously helping him land a film gig.

“We’re sitting in that courtroom on the wrong side of everything … The victim’s mother turned and said, ‘Look at all the famous people you brought with you. And it doesn’t change what you did to my kid,’” Friedle said. 

“I just sat there wanting to die. It was like, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’ It was horrifying all the way around.”

Warner Bros. Discovery said “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” will expose the dangerous culture behind some of the most well-known children’s shows of the 1990s and early 2000s. The four-part series is set to air on ID on March 17 and 18.

TMX contributed to this report.