 The first series of Highlander was a multi @-@ national co @-@ production including the French entertainment conglomerate <unk> , which resulted in a French @-@ speaking actor playing Tessa . Vandernoot had to adapt to the North American , fast @-@ paced method of series production and worked with a dialect coach . Her performance was generally praised by reviewers , who especially praised the strong on @-@ screen relationship that Vandernoot and Paul created between their characters . When Vandernoot decided to leave the show , her character was killed , leading to fierce protests among the show 's audience and subsequently prompted the producers to have Vandernoot play an evil <unk> of Tessa in the episode " Counterfeit " . Despite her return , Tessa 's death influenced the rest of the series , making it more pessimistic , and creating a significant precedent ; Tessa was the first main character of the series to die . 
