Drake Bell defends mum following Quiet on Set backlash

Drake Bell has defended his mother after she received backlash online following the docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.

In the docuseries, the Drake & Josh star, now 37, identified himself as the minor in the sexual abuse case against Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck. In 2004, Peck was convicted of two sex offences and sentenced to 16 months in prison.

After the show aired, Bell's mum came under fire online for not protecting her son more when he was 14 and 15.

In the fifth and final episode of Quiet on Set, which aired in the U.S. on Sunday night, the former child star insisted his mum is not to blame for what happened to him.

"If you were in that situation at that time, he was so good at what he was doing. He was so calculated, he knew exactly what to say, how to say it, what to do, the image to portray, everything," Bell said about Peck's behaviour. "I completely understand how he just pulled the wool over everyone's eyes. It's tragic."

Before Peck was sentenced, more than 40 people in the industry wrote character letters to support him, most notably Taran Killam, James Marsden and Alan Thicke.

On their podcast before the docuseries aired, Boy Meets World actors Will Friedle and Rider Strong expressed regret for supporting Peck in court, with Friedle confessing that he "can't get over" that Peck "turned us against the victim" by withholding facts from them.

In Sunday's follow-up episode, Bell addressed their comments, saying they don't change how he felt in court that day.

"I really appreciate their perspective now, but that day is so ingrained in my mind," he stated. "Nobody's reached out to me."

However, on Friday 5 April, the former Amanda Show star revealed on X/Twitter that he'd had a conversation with Strong and has "nothing but love and forgiveness for him".