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Drake Bell explains how Josh Peck supported him after 'Quiet On Set' appearance

3 April 2024, 15:28

Drake Bell confirms Josh Peck has reached out to him following backlash

By Katie Louise Smith

Drake Bell has praised his Drake & Josh co-star after he confirmed he had reached out to Drake amid his Nickelodeon docuseries appearance.

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Drake Bell has spoken further about Josh Peck's support after he opened up about what happened to him during his time at Nickelodeon.

In the Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV docuseries, Drake identifies himself as the unnamed minor in the 2004 sexual assault conviction of former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck. Peck was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender after he pleaded no contest to two charges. (He is not related to Josh Peck.)

After Drake's story was aired, fans began to press Josh to speak out in support of his co-star, and started receiving backlash over a TikTok video. A few hours later, Drake confirmed that Josh had reached out to him privately and urged fans "take it a little easy on him". Josh later released a statement of his own.

Now, Drake is opening up about how Josh supported him, and how much he appreciated that he did it in private rather than publicly.

Drake Bell explains how Josh Peck supported him after 'Quiet On Set' appearance. Picture: Investigation Discovery, Frazer Harrison/KCA2014/Getty Images

Speaking on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast with host Amanda Hirsch, Drake said: "Josh worked on The Amanda Show, so he saw and knew what was going on. But I appreciate that he reached out to me privately and didn't go straight to the media because he was there with me and saw what I was going through."

Drake went on to explain that he doesn't think Josh knew the details of what had happened to him, but had an idea that something was wrong.

"I don't think he knew specifics, but there were people who worked on the show that knew who it was," he added. "He just knew how sensitive this was for me and after watching the documentary, he learned so much that I had gone through and I think he was just so sensitive and made sure to reach out to me privately rather than just going straight to social media."

Drake added: "I think Brian was able to pull the wool over a lot of people's eyes and paint a picture that was a far cry from reality."

Drake Bell and Josh Peck worked together on The Amanda Show before landing their own 'Drake & Josh' series. Picture: Getty

Drake recently explained why he decided to come forward and identify himself as the unnamed minor sexually assaulted by Brian Peck.

Speaking on The Sarah Fraser Show podcast, Drake explained that the reason he felt like now was the right time to share his story was partly down to the Quiet On Set co-directors. Speaking about Emma Schwartz, he said: "She was very sensitive, and we kind of became buddies. I could tell that she was coming from a genuine place when we started our back-and-forth."

Drake then went to rehab and started trauma therapy before deciding to share his story.