Drake Bell Says Sexual Assault, Legal Battle Kept Him From Fully Connecting With Josh Peck on ‘Drake & Josh’
For the first time since the release of the bombshell documentary “Quiet on Set,” Nickelodeon co-stars Drake Bell and Josh Peck discussed the abuse that Bell endured during their time working at the network and the impact it had on their relationship while filming the pilot of their eponymous comedy series, “Drake & Josh.”
The shocking Max docuseries illuminated several instances of sexual abuse, racism and sexism at the network, including Bell’s testimony revealing the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of dialogue coach Brian Peck.
Bell told his “Drake & Josh” co-star on Peck’s new podcast, “Good Guys,” that the unresolved trauma from his abuse made impacted what should have been a joyous start to their show and their creative partnership.
“I’m entering the ‘Drake & Josh’ phase where we should be like, bro, partners. This is our time. Let’s be in this together,” Bell said, explaining that returning to the site of the abuse dampened the experience for him — especially considering Brian Peck would visit set in the early days of production before his arrest. “But I came back to the same stage, the same parking lot, the same dressing rooms, the same green room.”
“Everything’s triggering,” Peck added.
The two worked together on Nickelodeon’s “The Amanda Show” with Amanda Bynes before getting their own series, “Drake & Josh.” Co-star Josh Peck, no relation to the dialogue coach, said he did not know the full extent of the abuse that Bell had suffered until the premiere of the “Quiet on Set” documentary.
“The big break between ‘Drake & Josh’ and ‘Amanda Show’ is when I told my mom what was going on,” Bell explained on the “Good Guys” podcast. “And then when we shot the pilot, we were in the middle of the investigation, but nobody had known anything because Brian hadn’t been arrested.”
The pilot episode of “Drake & Josh” shot on the same studio lot as “The Amanda Show,” where the abuse was happening. Bell told his former co-star that the worst part was “having the monster in your safe place.”
“That’s the only place I feel comfortable is when I get to set and hang out with you guys, and we go goof around and put on our masks and wigs and makeup and make people laugh,” Bell said.
The Nickelodeon star added that his abuser visited the set during the pilot, and as a 14-year-old, he felt uneasy that he knew Peck would be arrested, but no one else around did.
Drake Bell telling a story of Brian Peck visiting the set during shooting the pilot for Drake & Josh after he went to the police but just before BP was arrested.
— Maddy | (@MaddyPuffin) March 24, 2025
The more I hear how untouchable BP felt invading Drakes safe space the more I get what a monster he was.#goodguys pic.twitter.com/V0LxNBT1iC
In 2004, Brian pleaded no contest to a charge of oral copulation with a minor under 16 and performing a lewd act with a 14- or 15-year-old. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison and was mandated to register as a sex offender. After serving his sentence, Peck was released from prison in 2005.
Josh Peck said that until Bell revealed more details of the abuse, he assumed that his co-star wanted nothing to do with him.
“I was just looking at it through the prism of a 14-year-old’s brain going like, ‘He doesn’t want much to do with me,’” Peck said, explaining that watching the documentary connected so many dots for him.
“I didn’t know anything but I had a feeling something happened,” Peck said. “We were in the car … and I said, ‘You still talk to Brian?’ And you just looked at me like, ‘No, Brian’s a really bad guy.'”
“Drake & Josh” ran on Nickelodeon for four seasons from 2004 to 2007. “Quiet on Set” reveals the laundry list of alleged abuses that took place at the children’s network during the early ’90s and 2000s.
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