Josh Peck doesn’t know how ‘Drake & Josh’ got away with famous running-over-Oprah scene

Drake & Josh star Josh Peck recently reflected on one of the most audacious episodes of the series: the season 4 premiere, “Josh Runs Into Oprah.”

A running gag on the Nickelodeon sitcom is that protagonist Josh Nichols (Peck) idolizes Oprah Winfrey. He even has a cardboard cutout of the former talk show host in his room that he pretends to interview.

However, in “Josh Runs Into Oprah,” things go awry when Josh and his stepbrother Drake Parker (Drake Bell) go to a taping of The Oprah Winfrey Show and accidentally run into Winfrey — literally! — in the parking lot.

Appearing on the most recent episode of the Syd & Olivia Talk S— podcast, Peck shared that he had “no idea” how the show got away with that scene.

“I know we don’t have her permission, 100 percent we don’t,” the Oppenheimer actor said.

Obviously, Peck didn’t actually hit the beloved host with a car, but revealed that the show had a “non-sanctioned Oprah double.”

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“She was a stunt lady because she had to do the roll over the car and I was like, ‘Oprah’s going to come after you. She’s powerful,'” Peck recalled.

The episode ends with the fake Winfrey issuing a restraining order to the fictional Josh, but Peck said he has a message for the media mogul if he ever has a chance to meet her.

“I’m so sorry I brutalized you with my vehicle, with my Honda Accord or whatever it was,” Peck said.

Listen to the entire episode of Syd & Olivia Talk S— with Josh Peck below.