Drake Bell reveals the reason for participating in Quiet on Set Docuseries

Drake Bell has appeared publicly for the first time in an interview since the release of Investigative Discovery’s docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.

In a new episode of The Sarah Fraser Show, Drake Bell explained the reason to publicly open up about the sexual assault he faced on the set of Nickelodeon by the dialogue coach Brian Peck.

The Drake & Josh actor shared that initially he did not want to be part of the series due to negative feedback he got when he declined to talk in another documentary few years back and said, “…Another documentary that came out years ago that requested my involvement, and when I declined, the response I got was unbelievable.”

Drake mentioned the email he got, “In the email, they said that people like me were the problem, and this is why things aren’t gonna change in the industry because people like you won’t speak out and won’t come forward. It was just all this shaming of me not wanting to be a part of their documentary. So, I’ve always been cautious and on edge whenever approached to talk about such a sensitive topic.”

When Drake was reached out by Quiet On Set’s team he was reluctant to even reply to the inquiries, but one of the directors, Emma Schwartz’s kind sensitive nature helped him to put him at ease, “She was very sensitive, and we kind of became buddies before [I agreed to participate].”

Bell continued, “I really felt a comfort with her. And so I said, you know, if you’re willing to come out to L.A. and sit down, at least I’ll meet with you.”

After giving interview, he went to rehab which helped him to process some of his unhealed trauma, “I just felt really comfortable in that interview, but I was going through so much in my personal life and after that interview I ended up checking myself into rehab,”

Drake continued, “Once I got out, I thought to myself, 'You know, maybe this is a good time to reach out to them, and say I’m not 100% yet, let's talk some more but I’m getting closer to feeling comfortable with finally sharing my story.”

So even though Drake Bell was very cautious to involve his father in documentary this time around he realized it will be beneficial for his dad, considering he always blames himself.

Before siging off Bell said, “I'm sure that my dad puts a lot of blame on himself, you know? And I thought that this might be an opportunity for him to realize that, you know, that it’s one person’s faul."

Drake & Josh aired for four seasons spanning 2004-2007 on Nickelodeon in which Drake played the role of stepbrother to his costar Josh Peck.

Brian Peck was arrested in August 2003 on more than a dozen charges related to sexual abuse allegations involving an unnamed minor. Peck was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender in October 2004.