Drake Bell defends Nickelodeon co-star Josh Peck in new Quiet on Set revelations
Bell called his former co-star a "great person" after some viewers of the documentary had been critical of Peck for not speaking out.
A fifth episode of docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV has now aired, with some of its subjects, including Drake Bell, reconvening to discuss the public reaction to the first four episodes.
The episode was hosted by journalist Soledad O’Brien, who spoke with Bell about how his mother and his Drake & Josh co-star Josh Peck have both received criticism since the series aired.
In the initial four episodes, former Nickelodeon star Bell spoke about the alleged sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of former dialogue coach, Brian Peck.
Peck was convicted of committing a lewd act against an unnamed minor in 2004, and was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender.
In this new episode, Bell said that his mother was not to blame for what happened to him, insisting that the "calculated" dialogue coach had "pulled the wool" over everyone’s eyes.
Josh Peck had been criticised by some of the documentary's viewers for not speaking out sooner about Bell, but Bell said that he was "a great person" and mentioned that they have been speaking privately.
Elsewhere in the new episode, former All That cast member Shane Lyons was interviewed, saying he was motivated to come forward after the original series was released, and calling Bell's story "gut-wrenching".
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Throughout the series, Quiet on Set has explored troubling allegations about the on-set experiences of Nickelodeon child stars and crew during the late '90s and early 2000s, with former show writers and child actors making claims about a toxic work environment and inappropriate behaviour on the sets of shows run by producer Dan Schneider.
Schneider has since directly addressed the allegations made in the documentary, saying in a YouTube interview on his own official channel that watching the series was "very difficult".
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He said: "I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology. I hate that anybody worked for me and didn't have a good time. I would snap at people sometimes. I would be snarky when I could have given them a nicer answer. I would not give people the time they needed. I would be in too big a hurry to get onto the next thing I had to do.
"Watching that, there were so many times I wanted to pick up the phone and call some of those people and say 'I'm so sorry' and 'let's talk about it'."
In response to Bell's allegations, Schneider said in the interview that when Bell told him what had happened, he "was more devastated by that than anything that ever happened to me in my career thus far", and claimed he did not hire Brian Peck on his productions.
Former child star Bryan Hearne responded to this video interview in the new episode of Quiet on Set, calling it "funny" and adding: "Dan was an actor before all this. He brushed off some chops and gave us a great performance."
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV available to stream in the UK on discovery+ now.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
