Drake Bell has been on an "emotional rollercoaster" since revealing he was a victim of abuse.
The former 'Drake and Josh' actor came forward six months ago to reveal he was the then-unnamed minor involved in a 2003 sexual assault case against former Nickelodeon dialect coach Brian Peck and since his revelations about "extensive and brutal" abuse aired on 'Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV', he has been comforted by the support he has received.
He told E! News: “It's an emotional roller coaster.
“You keep something inside like that for so many years and it's like torture.
“Oh my god, the world knows, and I didn't know how people were going to react [to the docuseries] But it's been a lot of support and it's been nice.”
The 38-year-old star also hailed his former co-star Josh Peck - who is not related to Brian - for being an "incredible support".
He said of his pal: “We're like real brothers.
“He's always been an incredible support and, the thing is, he always knew my story, so nothing really changed. It was just him coming to me and being like, ‘I'm there for you.’"
Drake - who has three-year-old son Wyatt with estranged wife Janet Von Schmeling - doesn't want his story to put people off from encouraging their kids to have a career in the entertainment industry but hopes they will work to campaign for change.
He said: “It could happen at school, it happens in the workplace, it happens everywhere.
“If that's what your child wants to do, the knee jerk reaction from something like this shouldn't be, ‘Oh, I'm never going to let my child do that'.
“It should be, ‘Well, my child wants to do that. So let's make it safe. Let's fix it.’ "
In 2004, Peck pleaded no contest to a charge of oral copulation with a minor under 16 as well as a charge of performing a lewd act with a 14 or 15-year-old. Drake was the plaintiff but his identity as the victim was not made public at the time.
Peck spent 16 months in prison and was mandated to register as a sex offender.
