Drake Bell Reveals Dialogue Coach Sexually Assaulted Him as a Teen

Drake Bell, 37, is opening up for the first time about the sexual assault he endured as a teen.

According to Us Weekly, Bell speaks out in an upcoming episode of the Investigation Discovery docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” about how Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck, 63, abused him when he was 15.

Drake, who was one of the stars of Nickelodeon’s “Drake & Josh” and who appeared on several other Nick shows, reveals he is the child star who reported Peck’s behavior in the early 2000s, leading to his arrest.

Us Weekly reports that in August 2003, Peck pleaded no contest to “performing a lewd act with a victim around 14 or 15 years old and to oral copulation with a child under 16 years old.” He was sentenced to 16 months behind bars.

In the doc, Bell recalled meeting Brian when they both worked on Nickelodeon’s “The Amanda Show,” starring Amanda Bynes.

He remembers bonding with Peck over similar interests, but now sees it as grooming.

“Looking back, I think that was probably a little calculated,” he said, adding, “I didn’t think anything of anything that was happening. In hindsight, I should have been able to see, but as a kid, you have no clue. But my dad saw it a mile away.”

While his dad tried to keep them apart, and even tried reporting it to the production, Bell said Peck eventually helped push his dad out of the picture.

Drake’s father Joe told “Quiet on the Set” that he stepped away brokenhearted.

“At that time, I said, ‘I want what my son wants. It is killing me, and it is hurting me,’” Joe explained. “‘It is breaking my heart, but I want to do what Drake wants.’ I broke down and cried. I knew that was going to sever my relationship with my son and that I wouldn’t be seeing him.”

He told Drake’s mom to “never ever” leave their child alone with Brian, but that didn’t happen.

Bell said, “Brian would pick me up for auditions and I would end up staying the night because I lived in Orange County and it would be easier to drive me home the next day instead of getting me home at midnight. It was whatever excuse Brian came up with. And that is the way it happened for quite a while. He had pretty much worked his way into every aspect of my life.”

Recalling how the abuse started, he continued, “Everything changed with Brian one morning. I knew that my life was going to be absolutely, completely different from that point on. I was sleeping on the couch where I would usually sleep and I woke up to him sexually assaulting me. I froze and was in complete shock. I had no idea what to do or how to react. I have no idea how to get out of the situation.”

The abuse continued for months. “It just got worse and worse and worse. I was just trapped,” the actor said. “I had no way out.”

He described what happened as “extensive and brutal,” adding, “I really don’t know how to elaborate on that on camera… Why don’t you think of the worst stuff someone can do to somebody as a sexual assault and that will answer your question. I don’t know how else to put it. It was not a one-time thing.”

His girlfriend’s mom at the time grew suspicious after Peck called the house nonstop to talk to Drake. She tried asking him about the situation, but he was “so scared” to say anything. She then took him to see a therapist.

Eventually, Bell ended up telling his mom what was going on, and she called the police.

“One day, I was on the phone with my mom and I just exploded,” he said. “I have no idea what provoked it, but I just screamed into the phone everything that had been happening to me. My mom immediately called the police. The investigation was pretty brutal. I had to be excruciatingly detailed about every single thing and time it had happened, with two absolute strangers.”

They asked him to get a confession from Peck via a recorded phone call.

“I called and he answered. So, I said, ‘I am really struggling with this stuff now. I am so torn up and so broken and emotionally distressed. Why did this happen?'” Drake recalled. “He just started a full-on confession.”

Afterward, Peck was arrested, but received surprising support from many famous friends. After he was released from jail, Brian continued to work in Hollywood until 2018.

Meanwhile, Drake’s life began to go downhill. His legal troubles included a DUI in 2015 and pleading guilty to two criminal counts of attempted child endangerment in 2021. In 2023, he was reported missing, but was eventually found safe.

He told producers, “There was definitely a slow decline in my mental health and sobriety. DUIs, behaviors that were happening because I was lost. I took responsibility for that. I did what was asked of me… I went through this bankruptcy and lost my house. It was absolutely devastating.”

Drake added, “I started to spin out of control. If I had continued down that path, that could very likely be the end of my story.”

Nickelodeon released this statement regarding Drake, “Now that Drake Bell has disclosed his identity as the plaintiff in the 2004 case, we are dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength required to come forward.”

In regard to other alleged behaviors included on "Quiet on Set," Nickelodeon said, “Though we cannot corroborate or negate allegations of behaviors from productions decades ago, Nickelodeon as a matter of policy investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to fostering a safe and professional workplace environment free of harassment or other kinds of inappropriate conduct. Our highest priorities are the well-being and best interests not just of our employees, casts and crew, but of all children, and we have adopted numerous safeguards over the years to help ensure we are living up to our own high standards and the expectations of our audience.”