By Simon Hattenstone, the Guardian

 
"Leo sickness. The evidence is all around. The woman who has seen Titanic 40 times and is still counting. The fact that the film has broken every record - slugging it out with another Leo film for Nos. One and Two. Various theories have been floated for his success."

"The one I quite like - actually I think I may have invented it - is that Leo is the beneficiary of Post-Diana syndrome. We need a new hero, like Diana, capable  of appealing to all sorts of people on all sorts of levels..."

"...not only does DiCaprio bear an extraordinary physical resemblance to the princess, but he shares the same tics and nuances. Like Diana he's sexy without being sexual, without being threatening."
"Which explains why little girls love him (Can I have a Leo doll for Christmas, Mummy?), the little boys love him (Can I have a Leo Action Man Daddy?), pubescent girls love him (phwoaaah!), mothers want to mother him, fathers want to father him, grandparents want to stuff his face with sticky toffees and gay men want to warm their feet on him."
 

And by Anna Berrill, aged about 12...

"After the film we went to the stars' party. It was wonderful and what made it better was that Leo was there eating his dinner. I soon picked up the courage to go up and ask for his autograph."

"With a mouthful of food, he laid down his fork and started to ask me questions. Wicked. He asked my name and did I enjoy the film. Then he took hold of my hand. I went red and felt all prickly...."