I love my Katie, says Tom

His new romance has weathered the scepticism with which it was first greeted.

But now Tom Cruise wants the world to know exactly how he feels about Dawson's Creek star Katie Holmes.

'I love this woman. She's magnificent,' he said on U.S television. 'I'm not going to hide it. I am so happy. I'm having the best time and I'm really, really happy and I can't contain it.

'We go scuba diving together. She likes all the stuff that I love to do, she's funny and smart.'

When the couple went public with their relationship last month, cynics pointed to the perfect timing of the Hollywood publicity machine - he is starring in Steven Spielberg's £120million remake of The War of the Worlds while Holmes appears
in Batman Begins. But the enthusiasm of Cruise's latest tributes to his new love would leave him looking rather silly if it did turn out to be a stunt. He even enthused about her acting skills, saying: 'I've seen her work and you go, "Man, that girl is really talented".'

The age gap - Cruise is 42 and Miss Holmes 26 - has raised eyebrows but is hardly out of character. Although this is his youngest partner to date Cruise has made it clear he likes his women to be younger than him.

His last long-term girlfriend, Penelope Cruz, recently celebrated her 31st birthday while his second wife Nicole Kidman is 37.

The exception was wife number one, Mimi Rogers, who is now 49.