A data processing apparatus communicates data bits on a predetermined number of sub-carrier signals of an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed (OFDM) symbol. The data processing apparatus comprises a parity interleaver operable to perform parity interleaving on Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoded data bits obtained by performing LDPC encoding according to a parity check matrix of an LDPC code including a parity matrix corresponding to parity bits of the LDPC code, the parity matrix having a stepwise structure, so that a parity bit of the LDPC encoded data bits is interleaved to a different parity bit position. A mapping unit maps the parity interleaved bits onto data symbols corresponding to modulation symbols of a modulation scheme of the OFDM sub-carrier signals.