Drake Bell Shares How His Girlfriend’s Mom Noticed He Was In Trouble & Helped

Content warning: This article mentions child sexual abuse.

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV was difficult to watch. The Investigation Discovery documentary offered disturbing insight into what was going on behind the scenes on a number of popular Nickelodeon shows, including that actor Drake Bell was a victim of sexual assault during his time with the network. Bell bravely shared his horrific experience and opened up about how it was his girlfriend’s mother who figured out what was happening to him “in about six seconds.”

Bell, now 37, was working at Nickelodeon on The Amanda Show when he was introduced to dialogue coach Brian Peck. His dad, Joe Bell, who was managing the 14-year-old at the time, spoke in the documentary about being immediately uncomfortable with Peck. “Unfortunately, I started to see Brian just hang around Drake too much and it just didn’t sit well with me,” he said in the third episode. Joe recalled telling the production team he did not “have a good feeling” about Peck, but was told the dialogue coach was gay and “maybe you’re just homophobic.” Joe said he felt “ostracized” and backed off, but continued to insist that his son was never to be alone with Peck.

Eventually, according to Bell, Peck managed to drive a wedge between the father and son, and encouraged Bell to drop his father as his manager. Bell then started to spend time alone with the dialogue coach at his home, and this was when Bell said the abuse began. For a period of six months when he was 15 years old, Bell alleges in the documentary that he was sexually abused by Peck.

“It just got worse and worse and worse and worse, and I was trapped, and I had no way out,” Bell said. Until he found a girlfriend and started spending time at her home, something he said Peck did not want to happen. In fact, Bell recalled one day Peck continuously called his cell phone and even his girlfriend’s house, which alerted his girlfriend’s mom that something was wrong. “I was basically spending all of my time at my girlfriend’s house because I felt so safe there,” Bell said in the documentary. “And her mom... it took her about six seconds to catch on to what was going on.”

“What’s going on?” Bell remembered his girlfriend’s mother asking him that day. When he tried to act like it was no big deal, she immediately said, “No, a 40-something-year-old man does not call my daughter’s boyfriend like that.” Even as Bell continued to act like nothing happened, she called Bell’s mom and said she would be taking him to see a therapist the next day.

Bell eventually told his mom about the abuse, and she called the police. Peck was arrested and sentenced to 16 months in jail for 11 counts of sexual abuse in October 2004. Today, Peck is free and reportedly living somewhere in California, according to TMZ. He continued to act in Hollywood until 2018. Since Quiet on Set premiered, Peck has not issued a statement to the media and did not participate in the documentary.

Several social media users praised Bell’s girlfriend’s mom, who has not been publicly identified, for her response. One X user wrote, “Thank god his gf’s mom could say ‘Nope, it’s over’ and help get him out. You can SEE Drake’s relief when he talks about realizing someone could finally save him. It's heartbreaking.” Another said, “his girlfriend’s mom is an angel for getting him out.” One more commented, “I PRAY I’m the kind of mom who can instantly spot that someone else’s kid is in trouble.”

Being an advocate not just for your own kid, but your kid’s friends, is a delicate dance. Yes, you want to be the kind of mom where your kids’ friends feel comfortable getting a snack from your fridge. Where they can hang out in the kitchen and talk to you about stuff. Where you feel comfortable checking in with them about their own lives. But you also want to be the kind of mom who alerts their parent if there is a sign of trouble, just as this mom did. She saw what was going on and got on the phone with Bell’s mom. She covered all her bases to make sure he was safe.

In the aftermath of Bell’s appearance on Quiet on Set, Nickelodeon released the following statement: “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.”

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit hotline.rainn.org.