31st December Childrens Society Rushden (J Holloway)
6 Old Australian slang for a fashion -conscious young male
17 A youngest son, a favourite child (i thought maybe sonny)
72 This top lady was a man, famous as the actor of (4 2 4)
85 In the north of England, collecting wood for Guy Fawkes bonfire
First word of 72 must be 'Dame' surely? But I can't parse either 'of Sark' or 'of York' which are the only two following options that occur to me. I might be on completely the wrong track but I mention this in the hope that it touches off an idea from someone else
A very long shot but picking up on ChinaJan’s suggestion, the top lady could be dame Edna everage, played by Barry Humphries who starred in a film ‘Side by Side’