Drake Bell to share claims of abuse as a child star in new docuseries

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — A new series about the “Dark Side of Kids TV” will feature former Nickelodeon child star Drake Bell sharing his account of abuse he says he experienced while working in entertainment as a minor.

A new clip from the upcoming docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV”shows Bell, now 37, taking a seat as he prepares to speak.

“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,” according to a press release about the Investigation Discovery series.

Investigation Discovery is owned by CNN’s parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery.

CNN has reached out to a representative for Peck and Nickelodeon for comment.

Peck, who is also an actor who appeared in multiple TV shows and films, including “Good Burger” and “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody,” was arrested in 2003 and later convicted after pleading no contest to lewd acts with a child. He was also convicted of oral copulation and sentenced to 16 months in prison, according to court records.

Peck, then 43, was arrested approximately two years after the abuse occurred, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department. The victim was not identified at the time.

Bell appeared in a variety of film and tv projects before going on to star in Nickelodeon’s “Drake & Josh” from 2004 – 2007.

ABC’s “Boy Meets World” stars Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong and Will Friedle in a recent episode of their podcast reflected on their own their interactions with Peck, when he guest-starred on some episodes of their show years ago, according to a description of the podcast.

The former child stars were joined by therapist Kati Morton to discuss “the difficult subjects of grooming, childhood sexual abuse and their effects on victims.”

They detailed what they said were manipulative tactics by Peck that had them believing that he was the one being victimized. They initially supported him in his legal case, choosing his side against the abuse victim and his family in court, which they said they now regret.

“Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” will premiere across two nights, Sunday, March 17 and Monday, March 18 on ID.

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