Longtime Nickelodeon personality Marc Summers stormed off set after allegedly being "ambushed" during an interview for the explosive new docuseries that exposed child sex abuse and a toxic workplace at the kids' television channel, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a teaser for an upcoming episode of Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, Summers said that when he agreed to participate in the documentary, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, he was unaware of its subject matter.
The legendary Nick host said the Investigation Discovery filmmakers pulled a "bait and switch" when he showed up to appear in the multi-part series, per Variety.
"They never told me what this documentary was really about," Summers said in the preview for the show that will be streamed Friday on the Elvis Duran YouTube channel, "And so they showed me a video of something that I couldn't believe was on Nickelodeon, and I said, 'Well, let's stop the tape right here. What are we doing?'"
At that point, Summers said he was told the film would focus on Nick's controversial history of hiring predators like Brian Peck and fostering a toxic work environment under big-time producer Dan Schneider. Summers said that's when he walked out of the interview and off the set.
Peck, a dialogue coach, was convicted in 2004 of sexually assaulting Drake & Josh actor Drake Bell beginning when he was 15 years old. Bell spoke about the abuse publicly for the first time in the documentary, revealing that he was the "John Doe" whose name was withheld from court records at the time of Peck's arrest.
The series also compiled clips that shed light on sexual innuendos that were insidiously woven into kids' TV shows for years under Schneider's leadership.
“I left. So I got a phone call about six weeks ago saying you’re totally out of the show. And I went, ‘Great.’ Then they called me about four weeks ago and said, ‘Well, you’re in it, but you’re only in the first part of it because you talked about the positive stuff of Nickelodeon,'” Summers said in the preview for Elvis Duran.
Summers, who hosted the game show Double Dare from 1986 to 1993, said he was less than thrilled to find out the documentary opened with him "saying all these wonderful things" about Nickelodeon.
“What they didn’t tell me — and they lied to me about — was the fact that they put in that other thing where they had the camera on me when they ambushed me. And so, now we get into a whole situation about who’s unethical,” he said.
The former Nick host also said he never met Schneider because he left the channel before the producer was brought on.
"Those people came in after and took over our studios," Summers said. "I never met the man, I have no idea about any of those things."
Schneider was gradually ousted from Nick as reports of his problematic behavior piled up, and he was eventually let go in 2014. The producer showed favoritism for male employees, routinely asked females for massages, and was feared for having a short fuse, according to the ID series.
Schneider created some of Nickelodeon's biggest moneymakers, like All That, The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, and iCarly.
The ID series highlights how Schneider's massively successful shows prolonged his time with the company despite workplace complaints going back years.
Several stars like Melissa Joan Hart and Kenan Thompson have recently spoken out about the details revealed in the documentary.
"I absolutely trust them, believe them, one hundred percent," Hart said.
Thompson said the incidents involving Schneider happened after he left Nickelodeon.
“It's tough for me because I can't really speak on things that I've never witnessed,” he stated.
The documentary also highlighted how Peck, who worked on several Nick shows, faced little scrutiny at the time of his conviction for assaulting Bell, the costar of Drake & Josh.
After suffering what he called "extensive" and "brutal" abuse at the hands of Peck, Bell struggled through his teens and early 20s with substance abuse, filed for bankruptcy, and faced criminal charges of his own.
In 2021, the actor pleaded guilty to felony attempted child endangerment and a misdemeanor charge of disseminating harmful material to a juvenile.
He was also accused of physically and emotionally abusing his ex-girlfriend, Melissa Lingafelt, while the two dated from 2006 to 2009. RadarOnline.com revealed that since the ID series aired, Lingafelt has been hounded by messages from fans of Bell who doubt her claims.
A fifth episode of Quiet on Set is scheduled to air this Sunday on ID.