Drake Bell says he remembers ‘Drake and Josh’ fondly despite abuse

Drake Bell has “beautiful memories” of his 2000s show Drake & Josh, despite having experienced abuse at the network.

The 37-year-old actor recently revealed that he was sexually assaulted for years by a Nickelodeon dialogue coach when he was only 15 years old – just before he joined the popular comedy series.

Despite being in a dark place at the time, Bell recently told Access Hollywood that the show was actually a breath of fresh air for him.

“Whenever I go back and I look back – you know people ask me, ‘Are you able to watch Drake & Josh?’ And I watch it with happiness and joy,” he revealed.

Bell particularly found a safe space with his co-star, Josh Peck, who played his step-brother.

However, the dynamic duo had actually met before Drake & Josh when they both worked on The Amanda Show.

Recalling their first time meeting on a sketch called Tony Pajamas, Bell shared, “I remember it so fondly, doing that scene for the first time, and looking at him, and he’s ad-libbing and his comedic timing is so brilliant, and I remember looking at him and going, ‘Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me.’”

“I just looked and everything went silent. I’m looking at this guy, I go, ‘You’re my Jerry Lewis. You’re my Lou Costello. Oh my gosh. Are you kidding me? Did I manifest this?’”