Drake Bell says he spoke out about his sexual abuse in part because of his father, who wanted to protect him as a child actor

• Drake Bell says he made “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” in part because of his father.

• Bell thought it would be a relief for his father to be able to talk about what had happened.

• “I’m sure my dad blames himself a lot, you know?” Bell said on the “Sarah Fraser Show.”

Drake Bell says he decided to speak out about the sexual abuse he experienced as a child actor in part because of his father.

In an episode of “The Sarah Fraser Show” released Friday, Bell spoke about his decision to share his story in the documentary series “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.”

Although he got along well with the show’s producers, it took Bell a while to agree to the project because he wasn’t ready to tell the world.

After their first meeting, Bell said he had checked into rehab to deal with his trauma.

“During this process, when I came out, I thought, ‘You know, maybe now is a good time to reach out to them and say, hey, I’m not quite 100 percent yet. Let’s talk a little more, but I’m slowly getting closer to feeling comfortable finally telling my story,'” Bell told Fraser.

Bell said he was “very cautious” about including his father, Joe Bell, in the documentary series, but ultimately decided to do so because he thought it would be helpful.

“Even though I was struggling with ‘Oh my God, what am I doing telling my story? Should I do this?’ I also felt like ‘Wow, you know, it’s all out there now. I can get it off my chest,'” Bell said. “I felt like maybe it would be cathartic and beneficial for my dad to be able to do that.”

“I’m sure my dad blames himself a lot, you know? And I thought this might be an opportunity for him to realize that it’s one person’s fault,” Bell added.

In “Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Children’s Television,” Bell says he is the as yet unnamed minor whom dialogue coach Brian Peck accused of sexual abuse in 2004.

Peck appeared on Nickelodeon’s series “All That” and “The Amanda Show.” He was sentenced to 16 months in prison in October 2004 and was required to register as a sex offender.

But before he was sentenced, 41 of his family members and friends – including prominent Hollywood stars such as Alan Thicke, James Marsden and Rider Strong – wrote letters in support of Peck.

Bell also told Fraser that he never received an apology from any of the people who supported Peck. He also said that he only found out after the fact that he had worked with some of them on his show, “Drake and Josh.”

“I had no idea that I had spent four years working with people who had supported him and who, in the back of their minds, probably thought of me in a certain way, and I thought they were my friends,” Bell said.

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