Heath potentially made a first appearance (9)
I believe the answer is:
premiered
'heath potentially' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'a first appearance' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'first' could be 'premiere' (similar in meaning) and 'premiere' is found within the answer.
A single letter 'd' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'made' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for premiered that I've seen before include "exposed for the first time?" , "initially staged" , "shown first" , "Revealed for the first time" .)