Drake Bell Praises Former Co-Star Amanda Bynes Amid ‘Quiet On Set’ Revelations

Drake Bell, who was one of the ex-Nickelodeon stars who opened up about his experiences on children’s TV on the Quiet On Set docuseries, has praised his former co-star Amanda Bynes.

Appearing on the latest episode of Amanda Hirsch’s Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, Bell spoke about Bynes, whom he co-starred with on The Amanda Show, which aired on Nickelodeon from 1999 to 2002.

“I can only speak to my experience while I was working with Amanda and that was that she was, like you said, just an incredible talent,” the Drake & Josh star told Hirsch (per EW). “She was so funny, she was so, she was like a rocket ship. She got on set and she was just, the talent that just oozed from her effortlessly was awe-inspiring.”

He went on to say he’d long admired Bynes before he even got his break in the business. “She was a big star to me because I’d grown up watching All That, and so for me when I booked The Amanda Show, I just couldn’t believe it, and that I got to work with her,” he shared. “I was already such a big fan.”

Bell added that he hasn’t spoken with Bynes in a long time, noting, “I can’t speak to anything in her personal life.”

The comments come amid Investigation Discovery’s docuseries Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which documents children’s TV shows from the late 1990s and early 2000s, with former child stars speaking out about their alleged experiences of abuse, sexism, and racism.

Bell and Bynes were two of the primary subjects in the docuseries, where Bell opened up about the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck. The series also delved into Bynes’ relationship with producer Dan Schneider, with former employees questioning the nature of the relationship.

“There were many times that I saw Amanda sitting behind him hugging him, or like giving him a neck massage or whatever. Dan and Amanda had a close relationship, and I didn’t think anything different than that,” editor Karyn Finley Thompson said in the doc.

Bell, however, said he never personally witnessed anything unusual between Bynes and Schneider.

“This was in the throes of a lot that I was dealing with personally, but no, I mean, I just saw a really talented, amazing actress, and no, I never saw anything,” he stated.

The docuseries continues this Sunday, April 7.

Quiet on Set: Breaking the Silence, April 7, 8/7c, ID