Photo: Elvis Duran and the Morning Show
Marc Summers, former host of Nickelodeon's Double Dare and Food Network's Unwrapped, sat down with Elvis Duran, Danielle Monaro, and Medha Gandhi of Elvis Duran and the Morning Show on iHeartRadio to uncover the deceitfulness behind his recent appearance on ID’s Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Children’s TV docuseries.
Summers was the host of Double Dare from 1986 to 1993. He was also one of the writers and producers, and would test challenges out with the children every night before the next day's show.
The former Nickelodeon host appeared in the first episode of the Quiet On Set on March 17th, which features former Nickelodeon cast and crew opening up about working alongside Dan Schneider, who is currently under scrutiny for allegations encompassing "unprofessional and inappropriate behaviors in the workplace" per USA Today.
"Let me tell you about that...you're going to get an exclusive here," Summers continued, detailing the shade that went on behind the scenes.
"I got called by these folks saying that they wanted to do a documentary on Nickelodeon. But they did a bait and switch on me. They ambushed me. They never told me what this documentary was really about. And so they showed me a video of something that I couldn't believe was on Nickelodeon and I said 'woah stop the tape right here, what are we doing'...and I left."
Summers was blindsided and was not going to stand for it. So, he walked off set and never returned.
"Then I got a phone call about six weeks ago saying that 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.' 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 where they ambushed me. So now we get into a whole conversation about...who's unethical?"
The former host went on to reveal that he never met Schneider and did not know anything about the allegations.
"I never met any of them. I never met anyone," he explained, even though the producers of the docuseries made it seem like he did. He assured Elvis Duran and the Morning Show that legal matters are currently in the works.
These days, Summers has taken on hosting duties that are much more his own. His podcast, "Marc Summers Unwraps," dives into the challenges (much different than those featured on Double Dare) that people working in Hollywood have to overcome amid assumption and ridicule. Summers himself struggled with OCD, three bouts of cancer, and a serious car accident where he "broke all the bones in my face," during his time as a TV show host. The talented entertainer produced and starred in "The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers," a one man stage performance depicting his life, that debuted in 2016 and is currently running off Broadway.
"It was an emotional rollercoaster on a nightly basis because I'm up there telling the story that I've lived and some nights I get so emotional I do breakdown, because if you're going to tell the story it has to be authentic. I do learn a lot about myself. I am so confident now. I don't get nervous."
Summers hopes to take his skills to Broadway one day and continues to pitch creative ideas to industry connections with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Listen to his full interview with Elvis Duran and the Morning Show on iHeartRadio now!